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A good many years ago, back in 1990, a game was released that helped shape turn-based RPGs as we know them. Called King's Bounty, it was a prequel of sorts to the Heroes Of Might And Magic series of games, and it's fair to say its influence spread far and wide.

However, the King's Bounty name was consigned to the history books for years until a Russian Developer, 1C Company, picked up the licence in 2007 and released King's Bounty: The Legend. Widely praised by many gamers for its World Of Warcraft-style trappings, it was perhaps inevitable that a sequel would be released. King's Bounty: Armored Princess delivers pretty much the same style of gameplay as before, and for all intents and purposes this is a by-the-numbers effort, albeit a very polished one.

It doesn't really offer anything new to the genre, and at times even felt a little dated, but if you can remember the first game all those eons ago and are looking for a healthy dollop of nostalgia, Armored Princess should tick all the right boxes for you.

You play the role of the armoured princess of the title, so-called because she seemingly doesn't let any men near her during the game. A hilarious 'pun', by all accounts. At the start of the game you get to choose between a career as a paladin, warrior or mage, with a basic army at your disposal.

By travelling to various islands populated with strongholds and monsters, you will build up your army by collecting runes and power-ups, gaining more experience with each victory and taking on ever more difficult opponents.

However, progress is not quite as smooth as it could be, and I quickly found myself outranked and outmanoeuvred by the enemies I encountered. There are ways of building your army up by exploring the islands first and avoiding monsters, but eventually you'll be forced into a corner and have to battle them. Luckily, you seem to be faster than a lot of your opponents, but even when avoiding them, progression is at times a slow and painful thing.

Don’t get me wrong, RPG junkies will love this. It has all the right elements for hundreds of hours of gameplay. However, the rest of us more casual gamers may find the going a little tedious. It feels too dated for its own good, and offers little new to a game style that really belongs back in the 1990s.

Overall, a cracking RPG, it's just a shame that it feels so dated by modern standards.

Price: £19.99
Manufacturer: Focus Multimedia
Website: www.focusmm.co.uk
Required Spec: Windows XP or Vista, 256MB video card, DirectX 9.0