Pocket Devil HD is a relatively recent addition to the iPad catalogue, with about a year under its belt in the App Store for iPhone. The game's inspiration can be traced to the highly popular god-game app titled Pocket God, on the same platform. Both games feature whimsical graphics and a humorous aesthetic that puts characters in the role of an all-powerful deity, controlling the fate of tiny and cute characters. A key difference for Pocket Devil HD is that it pushes a kind of goth theme that will probably polarize gamers. If you're not into the idea of torturing tiny, cute imps against a backdrop that screams "Underworld Chic," you may not be a candidate for Pocket Devil HD. It's hard to quantify what people find objectionable, but we're pretty sure that hideous stalking demons, oversized carnivorous plants, decapitation, and impaling imps on bloody spikes is enough to send some more conservative players or parents running for the door. We see it as campy fun, but we also happen to like that kind of thing.

From a technical standpoint, the game ships with very limited options for music, but you can purchase additional tunes as an add-on. You can also load songs from your collection, which most folks will choose to do. A big draw for Pocket Devil HD is its wide range of sound effects, prompted by almost every touch, tap, and swipe you make on the screen. Even drawing down the side-menu has a funny twang sound associated. You can have five Mugat2's (the game's signature imp character) on the screen at any time, spawning them one by one from under what looks like dank earth in a hellish burial ground. Other characters will appear on the screen at times when prompted by you, but the main elements apart from your Mugat2 characters are various weapons, toys, and objects that inflict pain on Mugat2s. These range from a fun "Stairway to Heaven" toy that transforms a Mugat2 into an angel, to more nefarious toys like the Gas Can (use your imagination), and the "Pee Devil" command that prompts spontaneous urination. The graphics are good but inconsistent, with occasional glitches that cause Mugat2s to appear without heads, or crashes that take down the application. As a first-round entry on iPad, Pocket Devil HD has plenty of good window dressing, but is pretty hollow as a game. Interactive toy, is more like it.

The idea of an electronic toy is really nothing new. We had the Tamagatchi at one point, and many subsequent variations on keeping a virtual pet, so we have a pretty good framework for these things. The difference between a virtual toy and a game is subtle, but it comes down to not having any kind of goal or reward attached to time you spend playing. As in, you don't get points for sliding down a slide, you just get the experience of sliding... Even solitary games like golf have an explicit goal, at least to challenge you. To be fair, there are a few actual games embedded in what is otherwise just a cute way to kill time...and Mugat2s. One example is the soccer mini-game, but you'll have to purchase parts of this as an add-on to the main title. You can at least practice kicking the ball at an unfortunate Mugat2 that makes good target practice and racks up some points. "The Underworld Massacre" is a chance to slaughter with your weapon of choice, but this also is a paid add-on. One freebie is "Hot Air," a variation on Eyedip's Flight Doodle HD where you try to float a Mugat2 up in a balloon while avoiding dropping pitchforks. Timed modes let you try your hand at killing or saving Mugat2s while the clock ticks, or you can convert the contest to a slapfest, if the violence offends you... It's about half-and-half, with these scored games versus the activities you just do for a laugh. There's even an editor that allows you to customize the style of Mugat2 that appears, but you'll pay a dollar if you want your likeness on a Mugat2 body.

The only reason the scoring in Pocket Devil HD creates a sense of competition is through OpenFeint, the mobile gaming network that allows you to share achievements and score challenges with friends. If you already have friends on OpenFeint you can share scores with them, compare scores across the global network, and find new friends in your area that are also playing Pocket Devil HD. We understand the paid add-ons, but felt they were a bit overused here. Perhaps one or two interesting packs of content, but just to unlock a soccer mini-game? Pushing it...

There are instructions that help you understand the basic idea, but few people that haven't already played Pocket God will be likely to find Pocket Devil HD intuitive. It goes back to the idea of there being no real point to the game, other than a fascination with sending Mugat2s to a hot, burning death. Sure, the OpenFeint integration makes for some challenging goals, if you have friends sending you challenges. Working your way up the leaderboard may be a worthy goal, especially if you look at Global scores, but you'll have to be a serious reward junkie to get off on this type of thing. The biggest issue comes from mini-games or activities that aren't explained well, leaving the player feeling deflated through no fault of his own. Mystery buttons control unexplained actions that accomplish unknown goals, and you can imagine where that gets you. We aren't down on the idea of interactive toys, but even a Tamagotchi imposed a penalty on poor caretakers. You can reign supreme as the most efficient Mugat2 killer, but we wished for more meaningful gameplay. Considering that several elements of Pocket Devil HD are not free, it doesn't provide enough long-lasting entertainment value.

The touch controls in Pocket Devil HD felt a bit sloppy or imprecise at times, and certain actions never seemed to work as advertised, such as flicking to make a Mugat2 fly... Tilt controls, such as those used in the balloon and skateboarding games, felt solid and controlled as expected, although the controls for skateboarding were impossibly obscure. Some actions aren't clearly defined, so you can end up dropping a Mugat2 off a cliff just by touching him. The objects in the game are mostly self-explanatory, as long as you have a devious mind. Paper shredder? Put a Mugat2 into it. Electric chair? You know what to do... The effects are varied and funny, but you don't do much more than swipe briefly to prompt the action. Again back to the idea of an interactive toy, if it's not going to be competitive it should at least be highly interactive. The humor isn't hard to follow and get into, but Pocket Devil HD didn't make a good case for itself by hiding features behind paywalls, crashing too frequently for our taste, and throwing occasional gameplay glitches. If you really enjoy the idea of mass murder in a campy, cartoon setting and have already sampled one of the previous Mugat2 games, Pocket Devil HD may be right up your alley. Otherwise, we'd throw a yellow flag on this one.