Big Trouble on Little Earth

Science fiction tells us, if nothing else, that launching a full-scale invasion of Earth is a massive, near-impossible undertaking. Even the best planned, most coordinated offensives fail. The hulking tripods of War of the Worlds, for all their might and coordination, couldn't manage it. Forget the tentacled monsters of Independence Day – they too gravely underestimated humanity's perseverance.

Big Trouble on Little Earth attempts its own invasion, albeit on a much smaller scale. Like so many other alien forces before it, however, the game miscalculates in its approach. Casual one-button gameplay initially seems like a great plan, but results in a thin game with little lasting appeal.

As Toto the Alien, the game prepares you for the eventual invasion of the planet via four training mini-games. Completing each gives you the skills to deal with the hazards of conquering the world. For example, Fix that Ship teaches you spaceship maintenance in case your vessel breaks down unexpectedly. Others involve traversing moving platforms, avoiding spiky obstacles, and more. Earn enough points in each exercise and you can instigate your invasion of Earth.

The four mini-games – Fix that Ship, Bait 'n Switch, Watch Out Now, and Walk of Fate, to list them all – are controlled exclusively via the 'OK' key. The aforementioned ship mechanics course, for instance, has you lining up like colours on a pair of spinning gears. As the gears turn, you hit the 'OK' key when the colours are aligned on both. Connect the gears before they make a full revolution and you receive a bonus excessively known as 'Incredible'. When this occurs, you jam on the 'OK' key to earn as many extra points as possible in the allotted time.

Each mini-game features Incredible bonuses, although they differ accordingly. In Watch Out Now, the goal is to dodge falling weights and spikes. Since hitting 'OK' moves you forward, timing is of the essence to avoid being crushed. A spot-on approach, however, rewards you with an Incredible. Initially it can be difficult, but once you get a feel for the timing it's rather easy to gain the bonus and rack up hundreds of extra points.

One-key controls and a straightforward scoring system make Big Trouble on Little Earth extraordinarily easy to play, yet also extremely shallow. There's absolutely no depth to the assembled mini-games. A fifth mini-game unlocks when you've earned sufficient high scores in each of the initial quartet, but it does little to address the troubling lack of longevity. Also, points earned do translate into coins that can be spent on customizing your invading spaceship, although it doesn't offer enough substance in lieu of wafer-thin gameplay.

At least cute characters and colourful graphics do soften the game's weaknesses, and feed into its novel appeal.

Leaderboards and an SMS-driven challenge system attempt to add dimension and reply value. High-scores for each mini-game are tracked online, providing some motivation to replay mini-games in an effort to climb up the scoring ladders. Even better, you're able to send specific high-score challenges to other players via SMS. Beat an incoming challenge with a higher score and you're awarded challenge points for the victory. It's an effective way of extending the appeal of the limited mini-games.

Big Trouble on Little Earth isn't bad. In fact, it's a rather cute game that's fun while it lasts. The trouble is it doesn't last too long – this intended invasion enters mobile gaming's atmosphere at too shallow an angle, resulting in it burning out far earlier than expected.