As the folks at Apple are always keen to remind us, for just about anything you're looking for, "there's an app for that". Unfortunately for most iPhone/iPod owners, that means wading through a sea of muck and grime before pulling up one shiny pearl of goodness. This is especially true when it comes to games on the iPhone. But hey, that's just one of the many reasons you read The Clik. We wade through the muck so you don't have to. This week, we ended up finding one of those bright and shiny pearls in I-play's recently released iPhone puzzler, Paradise Quest.

While it's possible you haven't heard of Paradise Quest before now, this isn't the first go-round for the puzzler. The game has already seen some measure of success on the PC. On the surface, there's not a whole lot to differentiate Paradise Quest from any of the other "match three" puzzle games on the market. Each level presents players with a uniquely shaped game board with randomly placed pieces. Players have to tap, slide, and otherwise maneuver around to try and connect three or more identical pieces to clear them from the board. Lather. Rise. Repeat.

What makes Paradise Quest different, though, is how the player moves around. Each stage extends well past the boundaries of the screen. Based on where you make a match, the view of the board moves accordingly. There's a minimap on the screen to help keep track of just where you're at on the sometimes massive game boards. A player's progress through each area is sometimes stalled by various barriers and hazards, the limited scope of the view, and even just a lack of available matches. Luckily, there's a little extra help to get past these obstacles in the form of power-ups. Players can shake things up a bit with an earthquake or scoop up some extra pieces with a well-placed tornado. Plus, by snatching up a variety of different resources (water, fruit, wood, etc.), players can buy upgrades to their little slice of paradise, eventually bringing all manner of wildlife back to the virtual tropic preserve.

If you're going to add the word "Paradise" as a part of your title, you'd better deliver on the presentation. For the most part, Paradise Quest does just that. The game's tropical theme lends itself to lots of lush looking landscapes, unique puzzle pieces, and a plethora of animals that would do National Geographic proud. The music and effects admittedly get a bit repetitive after a bit, but it's nothing that a little nudge of the volume slider can't fix. On the whole, though, the setting of Paradise Quest does a better than respectable job of presenting a warm and relaxing environment on those cold winter days.

There are still a few other minor quirks that might keep the game from being a true paradise. One of the biggest issues, aside from the audio, is a problem that many games suffer from when making the jump from the PC to iPod, and that's downsizing the controls. I may not have the smallest hands in the world, but they're not exactly huge either. Still, it was hard to move some of the controls just the way I wanted, as they felt like they were designed for someone with the hands of an elementary school kid. I ended up "fat-fingering" pieces more than once, screwing up the occasional well planned combo.

Despite these minor hiccups, there's no denying that Paradise Quest is better than the average puzzler you'll find on the app store. Instantly familiar to fans of the genre, it still brings enough unique twists to the table to stand out. Toss in the fun and colorful presentation, the inexpensive price (just $0.99), and forty levels worth of gameplay, and it's hard to find a reason not to book a trip to I-play's "Paradise" getaway.

Final Score: A-