iPhone It In: Catcha Mouse
We put a lot of focus on iPhone games that are complete and rich enough to fit on handheld consoles like the PSP and DS. But this week, we thought we'd look at the sort of small, quickplay game that the platform already does better than any other. Because this week, we're addicted to Catcha Mouse.
Yeah, OK, stop snickering, it sounds kind of silly. And the game's premise is goofy enough to match: As a mouse tries to escape through holes in your floor, you have to lay out traps to stop it.
Your adorably animated foe is kind enough to wait on you to make your move though, so this is a game about strategy more than it is quick thinking.
At the beginning, your tactic will be simple: Place the traps around the mouse and form a little prison, propelling you to the next level. But as things move forward, you'll need to get smarter to outwit the rodent. That'll mean relying on predicting his behavior and trying to drive him away from holes until you've got the defenses to protect them.
It's thin as can be, but it's undeniably addictive in that, "Oh crap, did I just play 25 levels?" kind of way. Plus, it loads quickly and is perfect when you just have a few seconds to kill. If we had one complaint, it's that it can sometimes be a challenge getting the traps exactly where we want them.
We love developers that are pushing iPhone to the edge, but little games like Catcha Mouse are equally compelling reasons to reject important phone calls. Plus, and we can't stress this enough, it's so totally free.
Catcha Mouse (Free, Odasoft):
