Pure unadulterated pixelated mayhem. This is what the general state of play in Rocket Riot represents. The pirate Blockbeard has stolen everyone's legs, so you need the use of a rocket just to get around. This premise sets the stage for level upon level of shooting fun as enemies gang up on you, sports games are played, and the environment blows up in consistent gooey chunks.

Unfortunately this fun is hampered somewhat by the controls. A context sensitive arcade stick will appear where-ever you place your left thumb. The directions are fine but instead of jet-packing around, you'd think you were on some sort of ice rink. It goes beyond sliding passed the spot you wish to stop at. Any finesse in control, especially in the heat of battle is more due to luck than mastery over your rocket skills. This plagues the weapon firing as well, where rockets arc from your gun when the screen is tapped. Instead of trying to score trajectory based hits, the best strategy is either rocket spamming with a special weapon, or flying over your enemy and dropping death from above.

(Editor's Note: During recording I had little to no issues with the controls and found the swipe setup interesting and somewhat intuitive. It's possible there's a problem with 3GS iDevices, or more likely it may be a control system that only clicks with some people. This is still problematic, but far from gamebreaking.)

Despite the controls, this is a lovely looking game. Great use of pixel art is all around but the destruction is where things shine. Colored pixels burst forth from the environments as rockets pave a new path to travel down, and if you're lucky, you might uncover one of the many power-ups to play with. For the majority of the game you will be hearing one track; the Rocket Riot theme song. It is catchy, and the small cut from the song that plays while completing a level is a nice touch, but more music variety would have been nice.

If the controls aren't an issue for you, than this game is recommended whole-heartily. The campaign is long and there are plenty of other challenges to keep a player busy. With some control tweaking and a future patch including some multiplayer, Rocket Riot could be a must buy for an iOS gamer.