Geometrix

Championing the old and new, Geometrix combines the carefree spirit of mobile gaming with the repetition, competitiveness and energy consumption of an arcade title. Simple in its delivery, your aim is to manoeuvre your 'characters' - in this case, rather rudimentary little squares with classic Thomas the Tank Engine like human features - away from incoming triangles which, upon impact, end the game.

While playing, a slew of comparable old skool arcade titles will pop into your head. Yet you'd be surprised at how different Geometrix feels when placed beside these relics. While its fundamentals are all about avoidance and skill, in practice Geometrix delivers something more original.

Played on the horizontal iPhone setup, the screen is split
into two, with identical little human-controlled squares on either
side, both with its own incoming enemy objects. To crank up the
difficulty, not only are you required to keep an eye out for both your buddies at once, but flying dangers that creep in from different directions.

This uses the touch screen nicely as players tap to move both the little squares around the screen. Tasked with controlling both squares at once, the player is forced into serious concentration to keep up with both sides of the screen. Focus on one area of the screen for a split second too long, and you are instantly punished on the other. While the 'drag' option should support those who favour double thumb use on their iPhone,  the sideways display and an even smaller split screen means your digits seriously obstruct your view.

Trying to mix things up a bit, players are awarded with a 'close call' bonus whenever they manage to skirt round an object at the last second, offering a neat risk-reward system. However, while more than a reward than an objective, this adds to the tension as the time elapses. If you trundle on, getting cocky after a few minutes of skillful avoidance, the game bitchslaps you with a "Temporal Rift", rotating the movement of the flying doom triangles. It's a simple change, but a frightfully difficult one to adjust to and pretty bamboozling to say the least.

Like any arcade game you are instantly reminded of the leaderboard. Sitting atop, a computer generated name and score haunts you. You're completely aware that it wasn't another human achieving such a sweet score, but something inside makes you - wills you to beat it. In the arcade you'd be punished on your wallet for this ambition, but here  the game can suck you in to playing until you're damn near cross-eyed.

Far from perfect, Geometrix is an affordably addictive addition to the iPhone gaming library. A simple concept, it prospers on this
touch-screen platform offering an enjoyable experience of
concentration and skill. It may falter providing any variation that
would encourage a long-term commitment. But so what? The iPhone gaming all about such casual perks and this provides them in droves.