Twin-stick shooters call for a very direct style of play. They usually pit you against overwhelming odds, giving you no option but to kill or be killed.
These rules - laid down by genre classics such as Robotron: 2084, Smash TV, and Geometry Wars - certainly apply to Cube Defender. Although it's divided into different game modes, the central aim is to blow away your enemies before they get the opportunity to train their lasers on you.
Shoot first, ask questions laterCube Defender controls like any other twin-stick blaster: you move with the left-hand virtual pad and shoot with the right.
Enemies occasionally drop score-boosters and restorative items, and you'll face opponents with special powers - such as the ability to ensnare your ship in a tractor beam, allowing other foes to take free shots at you.
What gives Cube Defender some much-needed variety is its selection of game modes. There are five in total, each offering a slightly different style of play.
Invasion is the standard mode, and tasks you with clearing an arena packed with enemies. Downpour is similar, but your antagonists continually drop into the battlefield, making it an exercise in pest control.
Gauntlet places you in a narrow space filled with hostile forces, while Countdown tasks you with surviving for a set period of time in order to detonate a smart bomb and clear the level.
Finally, there's King of the Hill, which is a point-scoring mode with one significant caveat - points are only accrued when you slay enemies while on the top of the mountain in the middle of the arena.
CubedIn all of these modes, the ultimate objective is to rack up as high a score as possible. Cube Defender records your most impressive efforts, allowing you to improve on your personal best.
The problem is that, beyond challenging yourself, there's no incentive to keep pushing. You can't share your scores via any social networks, and the lack of Game Center support means there's no opportunity to parade your achievements in front of your friends.
Predictably, you tire very swiftly of Cube Defender's rather basic gameplay. The blasting action is engaging, but there's not enough innovation on display to make it stand out from other examples of the genre.
Cube Defender
Fun for a short period but ultimately a shallow experience, Cube Defender has the basics nailed down, but lacks the embellishment required to give it must-have status
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.