Cyto

APP OF THE WEEK: Cyto, 4 cert, Chillingo, iPad (also iPhone, iPod Touch) ****

Whatever way you package them, a lot of app games amount to the same thing. Whether you’re an angry bird, cutting a rope or some other endearing animal or monster, there’s a good chance you’ll be stretching and firing your character from one corner of a screen to another. Cyto shows that a game in this formula can still be fresh and distinctive. You play a little bacterium with a cute face and mysterious past, trying to negotiate difference microscopic parts of a human body. Cyto can stick to some cells, elongate a little, bounce around and collect “memory” cells, which unlock more of the game. The level design is very well-constructed, the controls are instinctive and just the right level of challenging. It is also a strangely calming experience; the gently slurping sound effects, the ambient music (which wouldn’t be out of place in a yoga studio) and organic imagery all contribute to the spacey tone.