Sugar Rush

Lately, social puzzle games have been all about stuffing candy in your face. The sweet buffet continues with Sugar Rush, an iOS match-three puzzler from Full Fat Games.

At first glance, Sugar Rush appears to be trying to copy Candy Crush Saga's magical recipe, but it actually does its own thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't follow through with its interesting gameplay mechanics, and it suffers as a result.

Sugar Rush bills itself as a match-three puzzler, though it's more of a bubble-popper. When three or more similarly-shaped candy pieces are connected, you can touch them to make them vanish.

Three candies is baby stuff, however. Ideally, you want to touch large groups of sweets and rack up huge score multipliers.

It's easy to make massive piles of candy in Sugar Rush thanks to the game's swipe mechanics. The candies on each board are split into two piles that slowly meet in the middle, and you can flick them back and forth to match up pieces.

It's an interesting idea that encourages you to think before you pop, and it makes it all the more satisfying when you clear half a screen's worth of heart-shaped candies.

Not so sweet

It's unfortunate, then, that Sugar Rush doesn't do more with its split-screen hook. The object of the game is to get the highest score possible within 60 seconds. That's it.

There are no penalties, and no extra options to add a sense of impending doom. If the columns of candy meet in the middle of the screen, the world doesn't end. True, most puzzle games offer a similar "zen" option, but usually as a way to cool down after enduring a more frantic gameplay mode.

Sugar Rush has problems beyond its single-note gameplay. There's a lot of panhandling for in-app purchases (mostly power-ups that let you fatten up your score), and there's a "Lives" system that lets you play five times before you’re forced to wait for a recharge.

Sugar Rush runs on a decent idea, but it lacks the confidence to make that idea something special. As a result, it's as dull as a Polo - whereas it could have been as flavoursome as a bag of Licorice Allsorts.