Stardust Hero

Decades ago, Jiminy Cricket made some pretty bold claims about the efficacy of wishing on a star.

Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence has since shown that wishing on a star is pointless. You can wish all you like, but the outcome is always going to be determined by a combination of skill and luck.

That's also the lesson encapsulated in Stardust Hero, a Peggle-style arcade title from Big Fish Games.

Stardust Hero makes an immediate impression with its bright, gorgeous graphics and deeper-than-expected gameplay.

In each level, you're tasked with launching a friendly star around a sealed room in a quest to collect as many stars as possible before your time runs out. It's hardly the most innovative concept for a game, but Stardust Hero throws some challenges into the mix to keep it interesting.

To get your star moving all you need do is tap and pull back. When you release your finger, your star will rocket off in the direction that its indicator is pointing to.

It's a control mechanic similar in feel to Angry Birds, but with the caveat that you can stop your star in mid-flight, pull back, and launch it again.

This simple control system combined with a colour-coded level layout creates a a degree of complexity that you might not have expected from such a disarmingly cute title.

Certain blocks can only be smashed after you've collected enough stars to change your starting star's color, so you may be stuck in the starting area of a level for longer than you were anticipating.

In early stages, this isn't much of a problem as you can almost fire randomly and count on the high-speed ricochets to collect the stars for you, but the timers on broader boards will punish you for such indiscriminate tactics.

Ultimately, Stardust Hero is a casual little time-waster. It's easy to pick up and play anywhere, and it'll probably scratch your casual gaming itch. In its better moments, it might put a smile on your face as well.