Mr. Particle-Man Review

Gamers of the 1980s will feel immediately comfortable around Mr. Particle-Man. Within a few levels, you'll notice it's been strongly influenced by the likes of Pac-Man and my personal favorite, Bubble Bobble. It has a similar difficulty curve too, being tricky at first and soon rising to 'Can I throw my iPhone now, please?' levels of difficult. And yet, you'll be back for more, oh so often.

You have to guide Mr. Particle-Man around each one screen level, dodging obstacles aplenty and trying to snag some particles for extra points. Appreciating that it's a difficult game, you can get by through simply reaching the exit point but that doesn't mean it's an easy ride by any means. Mr. Particle-Man is controlled through swipes and touches, and he's easily propelled around.

Early on, the levels are quite forgivingly designed so you can get by without being too accurate. Soon enough though, you'll have to be pinpoint accurate in how you move him around – otherwise it's game over. One touch of anything bad and Mr. Particle-Man crumbles, taking you back to the start.

Eventually you'll unlock a dash move, which is handy but comes with its own set of challenges. There are boss battles too, in which you have to figure out how to deplete an enemy's life bar despite having no offensive capabilities of your own. It's often exceptionally tough and hardly anyone has completed the 100 levels available, but it'll keep you coming back, chipping away at where you struggled previously.

Mr. Particle-Man also has a particularly cool feature up its sleeve in the form of the Particle Board. This allows you to post comments about the level you're playing via Twitter, then when someone dies, they see the comment. It's a cool move and can be quite helpful in providing guidance. It's also moderated so you don't have to worry about anything abusive popping up.

The only real flaw I can find to Mr. Particle-Man is that there's no way to go back to earlier levels. I wish there was, as it'd be nice to backtrack from time to time. Other than that, Mr. Particle-Man is a surprisingly entertaining (if tough) delight. It's sure to hook you in and not let go.