You know, sometimes a lot of the gaming ideas on the App Store are akin to walking down the aisles of a carnival sideshow, where all these fun little tests of skill are awaiting you; some that are primed to be more fair than others. This comparison is being used here because Can Knockdown 3 is exactly what it sounds like; the third game in a series where you throw baseballs at cans in order to knock them down. It's like having the carnival in the palm of your hand!

Really the game is akin to titles like Ragdoll Blaster where you play through a series of ever increasing physics challenges based on the same simple gameplay mechanic. You have three baseballs in order to knock down all the cans on screen. You flick your finger to throw these balls and based on your flick arc and flick power, the ball will travel and knock down the cans, or if you threw it hard enough, the wooden beams supporting the cans. The controls are what we would classify as a little petulant. Most of the time everything works fine, the game reading your direction and power with accuracy. Often though, it will decide that it doesn't like you, and your ball will either careen off into the air or be thrown with a force you didn't intend. Seeing how easy it is to restart a level, this isn't a grave concern, but it is noticeable.

As you play there will be explosive cans, free ball cans, and all manner of conveyor belts and contraptions to test your ball flinging skills. Now we here at Appspy have not covered any of the previous entries in this series, but looking at them, it does seem that not much has changed in this release in regards to the type of set-ups and can types designed for your ball flinging purposes. The graphics are improved, the physics engine might be more fine tuned, and that soundtrack certainly does its best to make you enjoy your time playing the game, but we do wonder if long time fans of the series will see this more as an expansion pack instead of a sequel.

That said, if you haven't played any of these games, this is a great entry to jump on board with. The amount of levels is staggering and like most physics games, there's a joy in playing around with the engine, and watching things crash and crumble (especially if you hit a can via rebound off the wall behind the objects). Games like this in a way, are what the iPhone platform is all about, and this one represents bite-sized physics gameplay admirably.