Might and Magic II

It happens to every hero. They go and save the world from demons and dark forces – at quite a bit of personal risk to themselves – and then the devilish fiends simply come back for more at a later date. In hindsight, you can see how using the intervening period to train up an army and invest in a handful of nuclear weapons might be a good idea, but that never seems to be an option in your average RPG.

Not that Might and Magic II is your average RPG in most other respects, though.

It's the kind of game that makes it easy to forget you're playing on a mobile. By that we mean that with its richly detailed environments, graphically it could be a DS game, for instance, while comprehensive combat mechanics and an inventory full of items and magic add more bulk to its handheld console title appearance.

Like any RPG worth its leather boots, your quest begins in your home town, a tiny section of the world of Erathia. Your adventure kicks off properly after finding the mayor, who informs you that the Orb of Might and Magic is in danger. Some sword and magic lessons later, you head off to save the world.

Again.

On the surface, Might and Magic II is much simpler to play than those adverse to turn-based battles and reams of character information might fear. Your quests are spelt out clearly, but just in case you weren't paying attention an onscreen arrow points you exactly where you need to go next.

The real-time sword fighting, meanwhile, begins as straightforward as just hammering '5', or pressing down on the thumbstick. Later, when you reach higher experience levels, new combat and magic moves are unlocked – for instance, holding down '5' for a second charges up the Power bar and unleashes a lethal 360 spin attack, while holding it down for longer makes your character, Louis, dash away from enemies.

The '1' key is used for ranged magic attacks, which are very effective but need mana in order to work. As is typically the case in these titles, your mana bar is always on display, alongside your HP bar, current experience and level so you can keep track of your progress and make tactical decisions based on the information at hand.

Where the game's depth first becomes clear is when you begin collecting enough gold to buy more powerful items in the various shops you come across. You can equip Louis with head and body armour, buy new boots, swords, shields and magical potions.

There are also items found by exploring Erathia, such as treasure chests placed behind enemies or hidden in bushes. And if that doesn't satisfy your gamer greed, then other ways of acquiring wealth and goods include the completion of fun side-quests – involving tasks like finding lost children or catching frogs – which also earn you gold and new items.

Of course, all the items in the world will only have a limited effect if you're a weakling. Or worse, a weakling as a result of being a coward. Defeating enemies instead of running past them ensures you level up frequently. And you'll need to do so, because it's impossible just to slog through the plot and ignore the game's mechanics – not that you'd want to – as things are carefully balanced, meaning you need to be at a certain level to progress.

The enemies you encounter are impressively varied. Every new level features new types of foe of increasing toughness, anything from snakes that explode out of the ground to ghosts and huge armoured orcs. To keep things interesting, some are immune to basic sword slashes so it's up to you to work out how to defeat them – with the orcs, for instance, you need to hop on top of them and pummel them in the head.

Brilliantly, your quests are similarly packed with imagination. Within the first few hours you'll have protected characters, run to escape fireballs, stealthed your way into a castle at night with a barrel on your head, played a dancing mini-game and defeated numerous boss characters. And by this point you'll only be on around level 4 – there are a massive 19 levels to play through altogether.

We should point out the pace of the game is perfect. Traversing from fetch quest to tense hop-scotching through spikes and falling rocks, then back to amiable chatting and exploring again reveals the delicate progression the developer intended for players to experience.

The environments, too, have had a lot of thought put into them, ranging from palaces to deserts to a glacier, to name three, and even feature day and night cycles, as well as varying weather.

Ultimately, Might and Magic II offers such a vast world, such an epic quest, and is so superbly realised, that you'll often overlook the fact you're 'just' playing a mobile game – this will effortlessly transcend most people's expectations of what constitutes a mobile gaming experience. True, you're occasionally brought back to Earth by some control difficulties – no diagonal movement means enemies can be difficult to line up, for instance. And the background music is best turned off before the repetition drives you mad.

But these are the most minor of annoyances and pale into insignificance when you realise that everything else in Might and Magic II is executed to perfection.