Twiggle

Thanks to the burgeoning popularity of the iPhone, portable gamers are currently caught up in what can only be described as a touch revolution.

Developers have embraced the myriad possibilities offered by new interface with the same relish that a child would exhibit when given free reign in a candy store, and while we’ve been gifted with some truly excellent video games as a result, this unbridled enthusiasm has also resulted in more than a few failed experiments.

Thankfully, some level-headed coders are able to resist the urge to include all manner of confusing multi-touch controls in their games just for the sake of it. A lack of command doesn’t necessarily equal a lack of enjoyment, and Twiggle is proof of this new idiom.

In this colourful puzzler your only control option is to rotate blocks of cute little blobs. The objective is to match up three of more in a straight line - not entirely unlike the Sega/Compile classic Puyo Pop.

Drawing an ‘L’ shape over three blobs will cause the entire 2x2 block of blobs to rotate through 90 degrees; a ‘U’ shape will result in a more drastic 180 degree turn. That’s pretty much the extent of the control scheme, and it’s this simplicity that makes Twiggle work.

The game is divided into two modes: Classic and Arcade. The objective in both is to reduce an on-screen temperature gauge to zero by matching up the blobs. In Classic mode you’re given an entire screenfull to play with, making it not entirely unlike the DS title Zoo Keeper. As you remove blobs from the screen, more fall down from the top to replace them.

In Arcade, the core principle is the same but it operates very much like Tetris: you start off with four lines of blobs and as the game progresses additional lines are added. Should they reach the top of the screen before you’ve successfully reduced the temperature, then it’s Game Over.

To mix things up a little, the developer has included several unique blobs that behave differently to your standard type.

Transparent orbs are your friends - they can be linked with any colour of blob for huge combo opportunities. Bomb orbs are detonated when they’re adjacent to a matched line and Grenade blobs have a similar destructive effect, although they have a timer that counts down in conjunction with each turn.

Virus orbs are less pleasant as these can't be linked with any other blob and will eventually infect the entire play area, which means Game Over. Thankfully these pesky chaps can be deposed of by using the pyrotechnic properties of the aforementioned Bomb and Grenade blobs.

Finally, we have Ice Blocks, which form permanent obstacles in the play area. Not only do these prevent blobs from falling down the screen into a position where you can successfully match them, but they hamper your efforts to rotate nearby sets of blobs.

Thankfully, there’s one more element to the control system that makes negotiating these irksome blocks a little easier: by rotating the entire phone in your hand you can alter the gravity of the play area, which is a huge help when you have gaps that need filling in order to progress.

All of this gloriously addictive gameplay is reinforced by some seriously lush presentation. Borrowing a few visual cues from the iPhone classic Rolando, Twiggle is a feast for the retinas, and the colourful graphics come complete with some subtle but charming animation.

The sound is also of a particularly high standard. As each blob is popped into oblivion its demise is accompanied by some amusing vocal sounds, and the infectiously jolly music suits the visuals perfectly.

Twiggle is a highly encouraging marriage of a simple concept with top-notch execution. Everything about the package practically screams quality: not only is the audio and visual production of a very high standard, the gameplay is perfectly conceived and the controls are tight and responsive.

Like so many puzzle titles, it does suffer from repetition. Once you’ve mastered the peculiarities of the different blobs there’s little to do other than beat your high score in either of the available modes.

However, given the remit of mobile gaming, Twiggle lends itself brilliantly to short-bursts of play, and the lack of a concerted challenge is less of a blow. If you have a few minutes to fill then this will fill them.

Google’s Android platform has been crying out for decent software, and while this isn’t exclusive to the system (an identical iPhone version is expected soon) it represents a must-have purchase - especially when you consider the tremendously reasonable £1.50 price point.