Every now and then a truly unique game appears in the app store. MUST.EAT.BIRDS. is that game. With its beautiful art design and creative gameplay, this app will be sure to please.

In the game, you are Nomster, a little round monster just trying to eat some cakes at a picnic. All of a sudden, you are under attack by crazy birds that want to eat your delicious spread. Your job is to fire Nomsters at the birds to eat them before they devour your food. Basically, you're defending your picnic from an onslaught of bird attacks. The game opens up with uptempo techno music with a Japanese feel to it. The title is even written in Japanese with English subtitles.

You can fire Nomsters at the birds with a slingshot made from string and two forks. All you have to do is pull back on the slingshot and aim left or right to fire at the birds. The more you pull back, the harder and faster Nomsters will fly into the air. You can bounce Nomsters off the sides of the screen to try and eat as many birds as possible in one shot, earning you point multipliers. Sometimes the goal will be to eat a specific number of birds without them eating all your food. Other levels may require you to eat a specific number of birds using only a limited number of Nomsters. The game starts out easy and gets progressively harder, shortening the amount of available Nomsters, while raising the required amount of birds to eat. While firing Nomsters, you have the ability to eat another Nomster to make yourself bigger and more powerful. The bigger you are, the more birds you can eat at one time and the more points you will receive. Besides the nine missions, the game also features a challenge mode where you can take turns with a friend to a achieve the highest score.

The graphics in MUST.EAT.BIRDS. are beautifully done. There are simple background images in each level that fit the theme well and provide great eye candy. The animations are smooth and there were no frame rate issues or lag to speak of. The sound is where I wish the developer spent a bit more time with. The music is fun and catchy, but the same in every level. Some variety in the soundtrack would be nice. Also, while there are plenty of sound effects in the game, some are actually missing. It would be nice to hear a sound when you pull back on the slingshot and release your Nomster. Even some of the sound effects that exist are a little weak. For example, when you eat a bird, sometimes you'll hear a tweet, other times you won't hear anything. As a result, sometimes it feels like you're flying through the birds and they are just disappearing as opposed to actually being eaten. However, this is a small complaint compared to the great content the game offers.

Overall, MUST.EAT.BIRDS. is a success. It's fun, addicting and unique. I strongly recommend picking this one up. You won't regret the purchase.