Moops

Bright ideas are all well and good, but you need to make sure you get the core of your game as solid as possible if you want to succeed in the wilderness that is the App Store.

Moops is a prime example. It's full of entertaining and innovative touches in some sections, but gets bogged down by poor controls and boring, repetitive gameplay in others.

Less of a game of two halves, more a concoction of parts that never quite gels together to become a coherent and enjoyable whole.

The game casts you as an unconventional pest exterminator and arms you with a large stick to thwack the heads of any critters who are wandering around where they're not supposed to. You're ably aided by a podgy sidekick with a hoover.

For part of the game, you're wandering around a 3D world, smacking creatures who get in your way and discovering chests and other receptacles full of bonus items and health-restoring potions.

When you find another citizen in need of some pest control, the game takes on a different form, setting you one of a variety of different tasks as you try and tackle the infestation.

These include flicking the monsters into a furnace, smashing them before they can sneak into cupboards, or squashing trains of them before they can skitter away to safety.

There's a frantic, addictive nature to the mini-games, as you swipe and tap at the screen to try and kill as many creatures as you can before time runs out. One, which sees you trying to kill things while protecting crockery, is a particular highlight.

The problem is, the 3D sections between these little gems are clunky and repetitive, and the controls - a floating joystick and two buttons - leave an awful lot to be desired. Everything feels flimsy and disconnected, and the combat lacks any weight.

It's a shame, because the mini-games are light and enjoyable, and show some real talent at work behind the game. The slog to get to them isn't exactly unbearable, but it does take the shine off what would otherwise have been a neat little addition to the App Store.