Bird Mania 3D

If the House of Mario truly does have designs on 'toppling' Apple's dominant App Store by prioritising quality over quantity on its own online distribution channel, the eShop, then it needs to start delivering on that promise.

Judging by the awful Block Factory, and, now, Bird Mania 3D - both of which lose out in the quality and content stakes to the average iOS title - though, it seems as if Nintendo might struggle to honour that commitment.

Bird Mania 3D follows the story of Mojo, a small bluebird who wakes up one day to find that his family and friends have all flown south for the winter while he slept.

Instead of getting the hint that they probably don't like him, he sets off on a randomly generated, never-ending journey that takes him past nasty birds and bees, and through wind, sleet, and sunshine.

The game is a side-scrolling dodge-'em-up, in which you move the birdie up and down to glide around obstacles (well, just trees, actually) and soar past enemies coming in the opposite direction.

There are two key elements to the game. Firstly, there are rows of stars to follow that will bag you plenty of points. Secondly, you've got a boost you can use to smash through enemies and score even more points.

The game features a day/night cycle, as well as different sorts of weather. There are also multiple control schemes to try out - we found using the stylus to be the best way to get our feathery hero exactly where we wanted him.

Bird Mania 3D will last you all of 10 minutes before you become bored of it.

This is mostly down to the fact that the game contains only one continuous level that barely changes, and that there's no real goal or challenge to the game. With no noticeable advancement throughout the course of the level, plus no online leaderboards to track your progress, it's all a bit dull.

Of course, there are plenty of endless-running games like this that are good fun. What Bird Mania 3D is missing, though, is variety in content and personality - it feels like a game that has been thrown together in the space of a few hours.

There simply isn't enough to do, especially for a 3DS game. Throw in poor dialogue and barely evident stereoscopic 3D effects, and Bird Mania 3D just isn't worth your time.

The developer attempts to give some meaning to it all through achievements, but you'll most likely have grown tired of the game before you even encounter them.