The battle between the forces of light and dark has been a long time favorite to base a game around, but until Sunshine, never did it seem to be taken so literally. The black holes are threatening to consume the universe into nothingness by taking over all the suns, and as a lowly photon, it's your job to stop them. How does a photon go up against a black hole? Well they don't, but by planet hopping and collecting stars, you can make the universe a safer place. Just beware, this task is not as easy as it sounds.

This is a single touch 2D platformer that plays a little like the planet hopping out of Super Mario Galaxy. The main difference here is in the jumping mechanics, as they are certainly unique and will take quite a while to get the hang of and master. How's that possible with a single touch jump? Well it all has to do with orbit. As you're constantly rotating around the planets, any jump you make will follow that circular arc. The longer you hold down your finger, the further you jump, creating a larger arc as you whip back around (sometimes even missing the planet you launched off from). Especially early on this has the potential to be equal parts amazing and frustrating. When you pull off a stylish bit of platforming, a lot of the time by accident, you'll feel fantastic... but after a couple levels, there are jumps that require a little more precision, and without the time and effort to really understand the jumping mechanics, you're going to find yourself dying over and over again. The game does take pity on you after a number of deaths and gives you the ability to jump out of a black hole once, so at least you have some help if a level is giving you an especially difficult time.

Aside from the frantic platforming, another draw to Sunshine lays in the impressive visuals. Right from the intro the use of color is very striking, and as the game continues, this feeling does not waver as each new locale seems more stylish than the last (who knew space could be so varied).

In the end, this is a game for hardcore platforming fans. The jumping mechanics have a sharp learning curve, and the levels are deviously laid out to make use of mastery over this unique style. Death restarts the stage almost instantaneously however so if you're not that versed in the art of platforming, but still wish to give this a go, it's very easy to keep trying until you get the hang of things or decide to put the game down. If anything it's worth a play just for being a platformer that uses the strengths of the iPhone's control scheme rather than using on screen buttons.