Road to be King - Taking a sword in the stones

Road to be King is a sharp mix of arcade ideas, all wrapped up in a beautiful cartoon package, and tied with a ribbon of mobile understanding.

It's simple to play, lovely to look at, and does that high score-chasing compulsion loop with a good deal of panache and swagger.

There are questions here about the longevity of the experience, but as quick-blast pocket-sized gaming goes, you're going to have a smile on your face while you're bashing through this.

There's certainly a good chunk of runner DNA here, but there's more going on as well. There's a bit of the pattern recognition of bullet hell shooters here, as well as some more twitchy elements. And it all blends together brilliantly.

You play a little knight who pulls a sword from a stone and then wanders off on a gem-collecting, stuff-dodging rampage. You move around by sliding a finger, weaving through spikes, bad guys, and spinning wheels of death.

You need to collect gems to speed up, and to spend on boosts and buffs in the castles between sections. Unlike your usual endless runner you get three lives here, so getting smashed in the face by an unkillable enemy isn't the end of the world.

There are achievements to unlock as well, and these reward you with extra currency. There's no energy system, just the odd advert that pops up between runs and when you lift your finger off the screen.

The play is fast and furious, and the deeper you get into your run the faster you're going to be running.

It makes for some pretty impressive sections where you're grabbing gems, slashing weaker enemies, and darting through gaps in formations of immortal foes.

It is worth a play. There's a fizz and a crackle to proceedings that makes you want to start again when you inevitably lose your last life, as well as a depth that's usually lacking from this sort of mobile game.

It's the sort of game you'll happily play on your commute, bashing through a few rounds to try and beat your high score.

Whether it has the staying power to really hang around after a few days is questionable.

But while you're sprinting through it's lovely looking world, hacking things to bits and grabbing as many gems as you can, you won't really be thinking any further ahead than the next obstacle.