Fish Tycoon

Fish may have proved themselves when it comes to being the stars of animated movies or populating pretty screensavers, but games? Finding Nemo aside, surely they're too fiddly and ugly to gain a place in our hearts?

Keeping fish is no laughing matter, either. Spend hundreds of pounds on tanks, equipment and coral, and then you've got to waste weeks setting up, checking the water's acidity and dealing with algal blooms before you can enjoy your first goldfish. Frankly, it seems more like an endurance test than a hobby.

At least, in that scenario, Fish Tycoon ticks some boxes. As the title suggests, it's one of those long-winded strategy titles where the focus is on decision-making and inventory management rather than tickling your goldfish's tummy.

On that basis, you start out with one tank and a sprinkling of fish to feed, breed and sell on. Your aim, unsurprisingly, is to amass as much cash from your fledgling business as possible – enough, we'd suggest, so you can retire to somewhere hot and dry because, after a week of this, you'll be sick of the little buggers.

Still, the developer has made an effort to inject extra motivation into the game, with the slightest of backstory. It transpires that a tiny pond on the island of Isola once contained seven magical fish that helped the population thrive. Sadly, they've mysteriously disappeared, and the pond is now lifeless. So it's up to you to rediscover the magical species to restore balance to the pond.

Your route to success is through the inventory screens. A well-structured interface allows you to view, feed and breed each fish. The ease of choosing commands – simply carried out via the '5' button – is one of the game's plus points.

There's also a well-stocked shop where you can purchase food and medicines for when your little fishes get a touch of fin rot. Ornaments, to add an extra hint of beauty, are another option.

Of course, this isn't just a question of aesthetics. Though a few ornaments might seem an extravagant purchase when you're low on funds, they attract more clientele to your tanks, some of whom will shell out major bucks for your lovingly-crafted aquatic friends. You can even purchase steroids to boost their growth.

The feature that will most likely divide opinion, however, is the game's real-time nature. So even as your phone lies idle on your bedroom table, within its innards your fish will start to get a little peckish. The result is you have to check your tanks at least twice a day to feed them and make sure some nasty disease hasn't left your prize specimens floating belly-up on the surface.

Thankfully, once you're in the swing of things, after an initial half hour's play, these checks will only last a few minutes, giving Fish Tycoon something of Tamagotchi-style edge to its strategy focus.

But this twist is ultimately Fish Tycoon's downfall. Once you've got to grips with the game mechanics, and you only need to spend the odd few minutes here and there with your fishes, things start to get monotonous. You'll keep popping in to feed the money-making starlets, of course, but after the first few days you'll tire of the lack of variety on offer.

And mention of screensavers aside, this isn't even a great game to look at. The functional 2D visuals merely provide a solid base for the underwater action.

No doubt though, fish lovers will adore this chance to breed some virtual beauties, but those of us who prefer our fish in batter will remain unconvinced.