Fling!

A few scandalous images may spring to mind when you come across the word 'fling'. That you'd be right to think of knocking around some furry balls only makes Fling! more amusing.

The game is all about sliding cutesy furballs about the screen, knocking them out in order to leave one lone ball standing. A swipe of a finger sends the little guys flying.

Complicating things are three rules: they can't travel diagonally, must always collide with each other in order to be knocked out, and a furball can only knock another when there is at least a gap of one square.

Fling! offers three three modes: Arcade, Free Play and Challenge. Arcade mode is timed, with points won for speed of completion on ever-more challenging puzzles. Take too long and it's Game Over. Challenge requires you to finish each level in an overall time, and Free Play has no timing, thus allowing you to fling your way through at your own merry pace.

Initially, Fling! is a bit of a breeze, but don't think you're in for an easy ride for long. Thousands of levels across Arcade, Challenge, and Free Play modes run the gamut from cinch to clinch-your-handset-in-frustration.

To help, there's the option of undoing moves whenever you like, so if you make a wrong move you can simply back up one step. Also, if you're stumped by a particular puzzle, you can use hints, which take the next correct step toward completing the puzzle.

The motivation for completing these tougher puzzles wanes the more time you spend trying to solve them. While simplicity draws you in, it also yields little in the way of sticking power. One-dimensional gameplay leaves Fling! unfulfilling at times.

Even with the chance to compete against other players globally on the leaderboard, we found ourselves not bothering, and sometimes completing a level felt more out of necessity than for the fun.

When all is said and done, it's hard to fault this colourful puzzler. Fling! is packed with challenging gameplay - it's just not going to be everyone's cup of tea.