Monster Village

Build up that city wall and put the guard on alert because there's a huge gaping hole slap bang in the middle of Monster Village's defences - one that threatens to overrun what is otherwise quite a charming little title with utter mediocrity.

It's fair to say that's there's something not quite right about what's on offer here. It certainly looks the full package, coming with an illustrative style that's especially striking, but there's no escaping the feeling that a vital brick appears to be missing, leaving it vulnerable to dulling forces.

If that gives the impression that Monster Village is in any way broken, then that's a touch misleading. What there is of play functions like a well oiled machine. Your sole job is to be on the defensive, protecting the hamlet in the game's title from the beasties that occupy the other half of its name.

Monsters storm via land and air - the more that get through, the more of the village is destroyed. The main way of eradicating them simply tapping them on the head. Some go down first time, others split into little mini versions of themselves. Most of your time is spent tapping anything that moves on screen. Tapping, tapping, and then tapping again.

Each level you survive is rewarded with gold coins that can then be used in between stages to buy upgrades for your village. Repairs, added defenses and even tigers and birds to stand guard can all be purchased.

Such decisions provide the game with its only strategic element. Each upgrade changes the effect the hordes of monsters have on your progress - progress that can be especially short should you let the never-ending chain of foe get the better of you.

That's the game's challenge: to survive as long as you can, posting a high score for a worldwide leaderboard when the Game Over screen flashes at the end.

You may find your patience long worn away before your health, the succession of quick taps needed to survive quickly becoming something of a bore. In this respect, Monster Village feels like a game that should have come out at iPhone's inception - a demo run testing just how the touchscreen could be implemented.

Some will claw onto the game's visuals to pull them through, others will experiment with upgrades to add a bit of longevity, but in the end Monster Village feels like half the game it could be.

It's a half-baked take on a tower defence title, graced with some lavish graphics but stunted by some tepid gameplay. It's an object lesson, in truth, in how focusing on one area can leave you wide open for attack in another.