Although the exploits of teenage wizard Harry Potter have made the art of witchcraft a little more socially acceptable these days, riding around on a broomstick whilst sporting a pointy hat still has its pitfalls.
No one knows this better than Tabitha, a cute witch-in-training who accidentally stumbles into the Forbidden Forest of Danger and Illusion whilst searching for ingredients for her latest cake recipe.
Naturally, in order to escape from the dank forest she needs your assistance. Struck dumb with fear, Tabitha stands motionless in the centre of the play area as various monsters close in from the corners of the screen.
Thankfully our trainee magic-user is far from defenceless. By tapping an enemy, she can target them with her wand, after which tapping Tabitha unleashes a deadly spell, sending the targeted foes to their doom.
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Taking out enemies in this fashion is gloriously simple, but
Magic Chain is - as the name suggests - all about linking attacks for a larger points haul.
Using Tabitha's considerable skills, you can target up to seven different enemies at once. You can score massive points as a result, but there's a catch: the longer the chain, the more time needed for the spell to hit every target.
As the spell travels from one enemy to the next (it always moves in the order you've selected each target in), it freezes them. Enemies towards the end of the chain, however, are able to move until the spell reaches them. Contact with any of these disagreeable beasts results in Tabitha fainting and once you've used up the stock of three lives, it's Game Over.
A quick shake of your handset releases Tabitha's devastating panic spell, which causes untold damage to nearby antagonists. You only get one of these per round, so it should obviously be saved for truly dire situations.
The basic play mechanics of
Magic Chain are rock solid. Linking attacks is addictive and entertaining, and there's a definite expertise required to keep monsters at bay when you get onto the later levels.
The game is divided into two modes: Story and Endless. The former contains 13 levels punctuated with attractive anime-style cut-scenes which are bursting with colour and character. The latter basically does what it says on the tin: you keep playing until you die.
For all its polish and panache, the game's biggest failing is repetition. Tabitha is limited to one kind of spell attack - it would have been nice to see her unlock more skills on later stages.
The ability to improve your score on each stage and earn gold, silver or bronze medals does remedy the problem of repetition somewhat, and if you're after a quick blast between meetings then
Magic Chain will hit the spot. Despite its limitations it remains a well-produced and enjoyable slice of portable gaming - we just wish the magic lasted a little longer.
