House of Mice

Since the beginning of time, cats and mice have been natural enemies.

For years our feline friends were firmly in the ascendancy, being larger and more intelligent. But more recently cartoons such as Tom and Jerry have given rise to the underdog, with Jerry frequently outwitting Tom the Cat.

House of Mice is the latest episode in this age-old conflict, combining simple touch controls with cartoonish graphics to create a game that can compete with the best of the iPhone casual heavyweights.

Cheesed to meet you

As in so many other cat and mouse tales, the cause of conflict in House of Mice is cheese. The mice want to get their hands on this cheesy goodness, but to do so they must defeat their natural enemy in key battlegrounds such as the kitchen and the sewers.

The principal aim of each of the 80 levels is to blow up the cat that smugly guards each stage. You're provided with three mice on each level, which, once deployed, roll into a spherical bomb that explodes on impact. You aim mice by flicking the screen in the desired direction, and you can bounce them off the side of the screen like a ball on a pool table.

Exploding the cat is only part of the challenge on each level. The ultimate aim is to collect all three pieces of cheese in a similar vein to Cut the Rope. Acquiring all three pieces will require the most efficient use of your quota of mice, and things become increasingly complicated as new elements are introduced.

Early levels are as simple as flicking just one mouse in a straight line, but later stages will require you to negotiate pitfalls, such as boxes that block your path and electric sockets that electrocute you on impact. This forces you to employ more creative strategies and demonstrates the appealing nature of House of Mice’s simple controls but deceptively complex gameplay.

Mouse Trap

The well-designed levels are complemented by the cartoonish artistic style, which provides much of the character of the game. The wonderfully illustrated characters wouldn’t look out of place in a Disney movie, while the animations are executed perfectly.

Acquiring all the pieces of cheese is no easy task, while optional goals such as the highest score and quickest time ensure that there are multiple approaches to each level. The control scheme works well enough, but its occasional inaccuracies can be frustrating. Each mouse leaves a trail, but even following that trail doesn’t mean your next mouse will move in completely the same way, meaning that a misfire can result in an entire turn being ruined.

However, the lack of originality and minor control problems aren't deal-breakers. House of Mice overcomes its issues with solid mechanics and abundant character.