Real Basketball

Anyone who's played a simple game of 1-on-1 will tell you that there's a lot more to real basketball than simply shooting a ball into a net.

Yet in Real Basketball, that's exactly the experience that you'll get. Gone is drive coordination and any thought to defensive skills.

What remains is the simple act of shooting a ball into the net. It's good fun, sure, but it's not exactly 'real basketball', by any definition.

Real Basketball is, however, a catchy way to keep your finger occupied for the few idle moments that pop up throughout your day.

While it theoretically splits the gameplay between several modes (Arcade, Tournament, Time Attack, etc.), each plays exactly the same: you trace your finger upwards, angle it slightly, and try to send the ball into the net.

Real Basketball's controls are actually quite responsive, and while it might take a few tries to find the sweet spot, once you know when to release your flick the challenges become quite enjoyable - if extremely repetitive.

Where Real Basketball collapses, however, is in its lack of depth and an obnoxious reliance on ads.

As a free game, there's nothing wrong with the odd advert or two to put money in the developer's pocket, but if you don't pay to disable the ads in Real Basketball you'll be confronted with full-screen ads after every single round of play.

And one at the game's splash screen, for good measure.

But even if you disable the ads, you're left with nothing to really aim for. There are high scores to chase and a multiplayer component that allows out to try and outshoot your friend, but unless you're a fan of delivering rigid free throws into an unguarded basket, you'll be disappointed with what Real Basketball delivers.

Should you pay to unlock Block Mode, you'll have the chance to shoot over a defending player. This sounds like a brisk challenge, but it's easily negotiated by juking to the right before shooting.

Eventually, you might be tempted to unlock new courts on which to play (there are two, at time of review) or spend some cash on a flashy uniform, but you'll know deep down inside that these are all fleeting attempts to spice up a shallow mini-game.

If you're a die-hard basketball fan or like the idea of shooting balls into a net without having to worry about coordinating drives and coverage, Real Basketball is a fine game to dabble with.

Just don't expect it to deliver, y'know, real basketball.