Shadow Gun

12 cert, Mad Finger Games, iPad (also iPod, tablets) ***

Sometime in the future, mercenary/bounty hunter John Slade is on a routine mission to capture a rogue scientist. But what promises to be a mundane gig becomes a blood-and bullet-strewn mess, as our antihero works his way through guards, killer robots and other nasty surprises. This touch- screen third-person shooter works surprisingly well; the right side of the screen is directions and firing, while your left finger takes charge of walking. The tutorial is less than a minute long, which highlights Shadow Gun'sstrength and weakness: it's simple to play, but also a mite repetitive. On the graphics front there's attractive (if familiar) futuristic character and location design, plus a fun metal soundtrack. As a shooter, this won't keep the bigger guns awake at night, but it's playable and fast-paced; a nice reminder that the iPad can host more than Angry Birds.