Fire and repeat. That's the Radio Flare anthem.

A moody, side-scrolling shooter, Radio Flare tries to bake into something bigger than its ingredients. Its soothing soundtrack pulses with your game actions. Clearly illustrated enemies and objects pop on the screen. The simple game controls mostly succeed, piloting the ship around obstacles. But we never felt like these parts came together into a combined experience. And worse, the game poses too little challenge until you suddenly crash the ship, causing end-game frustration.

Radio Flare's boldest premise tries to match your shooting with the trance electronic background music. You'll tap on enemies--or just hold down a finger—to target, and after a pause, the gun will lock on and destroy the foes. Each explosion leaves a particle that you'll collect for points and progress. The music richly adds more layers with these steps; if you stop collecting or firing, the audio becomes a dull placeholder.

Our actions always felt tied to the audio; we liked this influence. However, the steps constantly repeat, so the music is unsurprising. Enemy ship types change a few times each level, but they also need more variety.

The movement controls work well because of the slow pace, but they betrayed us too often. You'll just drag the ship around the screen, so your finger is almost always on top. The enemy style and placement seems to account for fingers obstructing the view. But nearly every death is caused by an unseen enemy; we had to raise our fingers to see the culprit. And close-quarters movement is especially hard with this blocked perspective.

While it often feels repetitive, the casual pace and musical connection make Radio Flare an uncommon shooter.

Radio Flare 1.0
COMPANY: studio radiolaris
CONTACT: www.radiolaris.com
PRICE: $4.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.1 software update.
Marriage of music and shooting mostly hooks players. Optional mode replays levels without death. Attractive graphics. Fluid animation.
Action and music grow repetitive. Fingers usually obstruct the enemy that takes you down. Can't pause. Can't resume game after leaving application. Can't flip screen to change headphone-jack side.