Spaceport

The thing with space is, there’s just so much of it. If you ever want a reminder of how tiny we are in the grand scheme of things, take a look up on a clear night.

Unless you live in a city, with all that light pollution, in which case just Google it.

Yep: space is big.

Which makes you question the need for intergalactic traffic controllers in the future, as proposed by HeroCraft. That’s essentially the premise of Spaceport, though, as you play the part of a new recruit to the exciting world of space traffic management.

Your job is to ease interstellar congestion via a simple 2D grid. As clusters of four spacecraft appear on your monitor, you must choose where to release them, with each unit shooting off in the direction they’re facing until they hit the side of the screen (or another craft).

When three or more spacecraft of any one colour line up, they warp out, vacating a space for other craft to zip into.

If you’ve been able to cut through the sci-fi techno-babble there, you’ll have spotted exactly what Spaceport is. Yep, it’s another match three puzzler.

Despite the elaborate set-up and unorthodox system of play (‘blocks’ here moving from the centre of the screen outwards) this is built on fairly traditional, predictable foundations.

Things are livened up somewhat by the inclusion of a light-hearted Story mode, which has you carrying out missions for your square-jawed commander. The in-between-level banter isn’t exactly the sharpest thing you’ll ever read, but it is has a great deal more personality than your average match three puzzler.

Which is a good job, as there’s not much here to get your teeth into. With only nine levels - one of which is a tutorial - the Story mode won’t last you very long at. This leaves Survival mode, which is fine in a high score-besting kind of way, but lacks the colour and variation of Story mode.