Tom and Jerry Food Fight

Throughout history there have been many epic rivalries. David and Goliath. Wellington and Napoleon. Hitler and Churchill. However, even these notable figures pale in comparison to what must surely rank as the most titanic struggle – the timeless, unremitting quarrel between Tom and Jerry.

Since they first graced our screens way back in the 1940s (not literally our screens – we're not that old), the terrible twosome have entertained countless children with their unique brand of violent comic slapstick. Now the iconic duo have switched their attention to interactive entertainment with the sublime Tom and Jerry Food Fight, brought to the (very) small screen courtesy of veteran mobile developer Glu.

The story runs as follows. As usual, Jerry is rather peckish, and while the owner of the house is asleep, he ropes fellow mouse Nibbles into assisting him in a bit of covert snack-theft. The plucky pair cautiously head in the direction of the fridge, Nibbles climbs in and begins to chuck various foodstuffs out, and it's Jerry's task to make sure these items land in their swag-basket.

This is where you come in. Taking control of the diminutive Jerry, you must use a piece of jelly to bounce each piece of food into the basket on the right of the screen.

Things start off easy, with Nibbles only chucking one item out of the fridge at a time. By positioning Jerry under the food, you cause it to fly into the air and take one step closer to the all-important storage container on the far right of the screen.

Proceedings soon become a little more tricky, though, when Nibbles starts to panic and begins hurling several items out of the refrigerator at once. Add to this the fact that all the objects fall at different speeds and you've got quite a complex juggling act on your hands – should one of the pieces of food hit the deck, it's curtains for your midnight feast and the level has to be restarted.

The final concern is Jerry's arch nemesis, Tom. At random points, the moggy appears in the background, fully aware of your food-related hi-jinks, and will attempt to hamper your progress by dropping bombs in your path. Contact with these lethal explosives results in Jerry losing a life.

From the outset the game drips quality. The graphics are excellent, with the characters displaying an astonishing level of detail. Combine this with smooth movement and a particularly well-rendered background and you've got one of the most striking 2D mobile phone games of recent memory.

Jerry and Tom are incredibly faithful to their cartoon personas; the latter exhibits a wide range of emotive animation throughout. The music also preserves the wonderfully offbeat feel of the original TV shows.

That said, while the core gameplay is fantastically addictive, it does get a little boring after prolonged play and works far better when tackled in short bursts. Bonus stages spice things up a little, but generally the game suffers from a lack of variation. On the later levels it can also get slightly frustrating, as dropping just one item means you have to restart the entire level again.

Regardless of these niggles, Tom and Jerry Food Fight is a remarkable achievement, shoehorning the irresistible appeal of the famous cat and mouse double act into a highly engaging portable title that is packed with character and offers plenty of challenge.