RC Thunderbird

There's an episode of the Simpsons where Milhouse tells Bart and Nelson that the ultimate aim of the radio-controlled pilot is steady, level flight. Obviously, the developers of RC Thunderbird haven't seen that particular episode of the popular cartoon.

Or, for that matter, ever been allowed to play with a real radio-controlled Thunderbird. If they had, perhaps their digital approximation of the hobby would at least be true to its real life ideals. Instead, it's all about crashing into hoops.

It's not supposed to be about crashing into hoops, but thanks to some pretty shoddy collision detection and flappy controls that's what you're going to spend most of your time doing. You control a plane and using the '2' and '8' keys to move it up and down, and you have to fly it through some rings.

So much as graze one of these hovering track markers and you'll plummet to your doom. And you'll more than graze them, because they're often so tightly packed that weaving your way through them requires split-second timing.

Unfortunately, split-second timing isn't the order of the day. Your plane feels more like an air tanker than a nippy little toy. Often you'll need to start steering before a ring's even on the screen to get through it. So unless your reactions verge on the pre-cognitive, you're probably going to crash the first time around.

And it's unlikely you'll push on for a second go. This is a game that's built on frustration and repetition - two of the least attractive traits that a mobile game can possess.

There are occasional moments of levity, and managing to complete a level after a few crashes will likely raise a smile. The problem is that the structure of the game forces you to replay early levels that you're already completed over and over again just to get back to the level you died on.

Old-fashioned design, rubbish controls, and a core experience that's just not that entertaining combine to create a game that's simply not worthy of your precious time. Perfectly level flying would offer a far more engaging experience than this.