Clowning Around

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In that case, there's a lot of extremely sincere flattery going on in the Android Market at the moment.

Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, as long as the imitator adds a little something of its own.

Take Ace Viral's Clowning Around. Sure, it's just a riff on Cut The Rope, but it brings with it circus music and custard pies. What's not to like?

The game is a physics-based puzzler that sees you swiping your finger to cut the chains that bind roly-poly clowns. Your job is to get them into water barrels, because that's the sort of thing clowns do.

The clowns are a variety of colours, and you have to make sure they drop into the correspondingly coloured barrels. Your clowns roll over see-saws, down slopes, and through trap doors, and you'll need split-second timing to succeed.

There are 75 levels to work your way through, with new obstacles added as you play. Cannons, magic top hats, giant balls, and a custard pie-throwing, jet pack-wearing evil clown will all try to thwart your progress.

The difficulty setting is just the right side of fiendish. You'll struggle at some points, but it's never too long before you work out the solution and drench those clowns in the circus water of victory.

Clowning Around is a neat, circus-themed package, and while it's not spectacularly original it brings its own charm to proceedings.

What the game lacks in ground-breaking new ideas it makes up in playability. It'll never set the mobile gaming world on fire, but it'll keep you entertained for a few hours, and that's the sincerest form of flattery casual gamers can ask for.