One of the great things about the App Store is seeing how classic arcade games are revived and reinterpreted for a new audience.  Warheads is the latest release from Pangea Software and attempts to update the seminal arcade game Missile Command.

Jumping into the game couldn't be easier and requires a quick tap and a quick wit to survive each successive wave sent to wipe you out. The basic screen layout is the same as the original, with three missile lanchers set amongst objects you need to prevent being destroyed. Missiles will travel to and explode at each point you touch, leaving a small fireball that can destroy additional missiles and is the key to surviving later waves.

Warheads is a 3D game that focuses heavily on fast and spectacular special effects. It's great to see a game that attempts to visually stimulate without the need for neon hyper explosions or basic cartoony sprites. Explosions are rendered with concussive blasts and setting off a chain of incoming missiles will have you blinking trying to work out what happened. It should be noted that the effects are scaled to suit your touch device, but if you find the graphics too intensive there are options to tone them down.

Despite being a great revival of a classic game, Warheads is a bite sized game with little depth. The effects are spectacular and the gameplay is classic, but no variation in gameplay modes or online scoreboards make it the kind of game appealing only to self-competitive casual action fans.