Black Hole is an iPhone ‘Path Management’ game from Clickgamer, the guys who brought us Angry Birds. Let me set the scene; The world is under attack from thousands of asteroids- all hope seems lost, but who can save the earth from this plight? The answer….. You. You are tasked to use a mad scientist’s ‘Black Hole creator’ to divert the asteroids away from the Earth and cause collisions between them to earn points and achieve chain multipliers. The controls couldn’t be easier, a simple tap on the screen will place a black hole in the desired position, the controls complement the gameplay perfectly, anything other than the current control scheme would detract from the experience.

There are four types of asteroid; the smaller asteroids offer no special powers when they collide so trying to force collisions between the three larger and different coloured asteroids- which offer unique effects on the game world- is a risk, but one that will give rewards that could mean the difference between surviving and failure.

Graphically the game is decent; it isn’t world beating but is perfectly adequate for this type of game, with smooth and quirky animations and nicely presented menus. The music is well suited to the setting, a futuristic beat that adds to the tension that some of the later levels bring. It did get a tiny bit monotonous after a few sessions but is easily overlooked.

The games learning curve is virtually nonexistent, guiding the player through the tutorial and easier levels – which teach the player the necessary skills for the later, more challenging levels and the unlockable “Endless Mode”. The later levels and latter stages of the “Endless Mode”, although harder, are the most fun. There are only very few levels in each difficulty and this in future could become a problem. As the pace quickens and more asteroids enter the field of play whilst the player battles to rack up the multipliers, the game becomes a challenging and engaging example of what this genre is capable of.

The genre itself however, is a double edged sword; for a while it may be addictive and challenging but once the levels are complete, the “Endless Mode” is the only challenge and the game offers little replayability. But this game succeeds at what it aims to, which is a fairly superficial jump in and out game and should fill the five minutes you have spare.