Intake: Be Aggressive

If Splice was a subtle, meditative puzzler, then Intake: Be Aggressive is its polar opposite - a hard edged, frantic arcade experience that can be over in seconds if you're not concentrating.

It's a game about drugs and loud noises, bright neon flashes, and almost impossible finger-speed. And while it might not have the endearing power to engage that set Splice apart, it's still a great example of confident, atmospheric gaming.

And it's as hard as a bag full of really hard nails. For some the first play will be too overwhelming, but if you persevere you'll find a surprisingly deep game hidden behind the furious sounds and images.

The game is all about tapping on pills that are swirling down the screen towards you. You need to be the same colour as a pill to clear it, and tapping a bar at the bottom of the screen switches your hue.

Let too many pills fall beyond that bar and its game over. Pills that match your colour will be deflected, but relying on your shield too much can get you into a lot of trouble.

The controls are a little tricky to get used to. You need to find a way to keep one hand near the base of your device while giving another the freedom to roam, all without blocking your view.

But once you find a comfortable position, the game comes alive. The pace the later levels zoom by at is breathtaking, and the first few times you get there you'll be dead before you've even got a chance to fathom what's going on.

And that's the game's main problem. Sometimes it feels like you're bashing against the same five levels to try and either get better, or earn enough cash that you can buy some extra lives and power-ups to get past your best.

It's that barrier that keeps Intake from being unmissbale. It's still a lot of fun, but at times it can also feel like a lot of work.

This is a blindingly well polished arcade game, and a lot of people will get an awful lot out of it. It's just a shame that it's not quite as open as it could have been.