Ragdoll Legends

Cast your mind back to when you were a youngster.

Chances are that you possessed a sizable collection of action figures that were hurled during intense play sessions, their posable limbs flailing in the most awkward manner imaginable.

This nostalgic glance back into the mists of time will stand you in good stead when it comes to considering Ragdoll Legends as a potential download - because Chillingo's latest title is just as chaotic and unsatisfying as the short-lived toy battles of your adolescence.

The one-on-one format is reassuringly familiar, but the execution is as limp as the protagonists. You control a puppet-like fighter as he or she attempts to batter the seven bells out of his or her equally loose-limbed opponent.

You move your avatar around the screen by dragging and flicking it, but in truth the degree of control you have over proceedings is desperately thin.

Short of subtly influencing the general direction your fighter travels in, your only other offensive option is to spin it around in a circle, which causes arms and legs to lash out aggressively.

If one of these extremities happens to make contact with your foe then it takes damage, but the success of any attack you make is often purely coincidental: it's almost impossible to introduce anything approaching precision.

Annoyingly, such issues don't seem to affect your rival as it harbours a propensity to pummel your fighter with a series of devastatingly accurate blows.

Such irksome problems essentially render the game an unplayable mess, which is a crying shame when you consider the high production values. The visuals are gorgeous, with lavish backgrounds and well-designed characters.

The imagery which complements the actual combat is also incredibly intense. Blood splatters accompany each crushing punch and kick, and when one of the combatants finally succumbs to the assault of its rival, it explodes in spectacular fashion.

The sound effects are great and the music sets the tone neatly, too.

It's just a shame that such exemplary presentation is given the unenviable task of propping-up such a dour and dismal game. Even when you put aside the lamentable control method, there’s little in the way of gamplay modes to keep you glued to your device.

You can choose to fight a one-off Battle or a Tournament, and there's the option to bout with bare fists or weapons - the latter gives you wider reach, but your opponent obviously has the same benefit, which mitigates the advantage.

There's no multiplayer to speak of, which, given the game’s incredibly flimsy premise, could have been its saving grace. Squaring off with a buddy would have at least given the knockabout scraps a humorous dimension.

As it stands, Ragdoll Legends doesn't live up to its promise or its name. It's a near-unplayable mess - albeit a thoroughly pretty one - and offers a confrontation that any like-minded individual would do well to walk away from.