TEC 3001

It's not often that a game is marked down because it has too many ideas, but TEC 3001 represents one of those rare occasions. There's so much going on in the futuristic runner that it's easy to get befuddled and lose your way before your sprint has even started.

But even with a little more clarity, the game would still be guilty of some violent difficulty spikes, and the overall feeling that it's more frustrating than fun.

You play as a shiny metallic robot who's sprinting down Tron-style neon-light corridors. There are a variety of obstacles in front of you and it's up to you to tap on a bewildering array of different buttons in order to navigate them successfully.

But different runs have different controls. Sometimes you're free to drift around the track, while at other times there's a rigid three-lane structure that must be adhered to. Sometimes you can speed up by tapping a button in the correct place, or by using turbos generated by picking up blue batteries.

The buttons are scattered around the left and right edges of the screen, and they disappear when not in use, replaced by other moves and techniques that you're going to need in this particular level. There's no chance to get used to the layout, and your fingers and thumbs are always jumping to the wrong places.

The end result is a muddled experience that never quite flows. It feels like you're playing a greatest hits collection, with different styles of control lifted from a variety of other endless-runners.

The lack of cohesion spoils what should be an enjoyable runner. There's a clever same device multiplayer mode that splits the screen in half, and a freedom to certain sections of the game that other titles just don't offer.

All of that makes the frustrations even harder to bear. Some of the levels are just plain evil, and getting through them takes multiple teeth-grinding tries.

TEC 3001 tries that little bit too hard to be fresh and exciting, and in doing so conclusively fails to create an experience that you're going to want to come back to.