It's interesting how, in this age of advanced gaming technology, we arm ourselves with portable systems and smartphones only to buy the same simple-looking, merciless games that made us bleed and cry in the age of the Commodore 64. Of course, there's a reason for that: sometimes it feels good to get flogged by a game. It's like being pushed over and laughed at by a bully. We stagger to our feet because, man, we gotta prove something.
Games like Diablo and Torchlight are known for being massive, sprawling epics that seem to go on forever. 100 Rogues take all of the elements of these games - the random dungeons, the levelling up and skill assignments, the equipment, the items - and boils it to a five minute quest for survival. In a brilliant genre-defining moment for the iPhone, 100 Rogues has invented the first one-session roguelike.