When Gainjin Entertainment first approached the well-established Galcon Labs style of RTS-come-castle-defense gameplay, they managed to create something sharp in its execution. With its semi-realistic theme, Modern Conflict required fast reflexes and a fast mind to survive its brutal challenges. The studio is back with something slightly less realistic in Fantasy Conflict, and while there's a distinct feeling of deja vu, a lot of effort has gone in to establishing deeper mechanics for players to explore.

Notably, captured buildings can now be upgraded either with a troop or aircraft destroying weapon, or by increasing the defense and maximum population of the structures. Finally players can create bulkheads and control a map instead of constantly playing a game of cat-and-mouse as your ball of troops sweeps across the field in an attempt to cut off the enemy. These upgrades cost soldiers, creating a sort of penalty for those who would seek to otherwise slow down the pace of the game, but in some stages you'll be thankful for the strong defensive position it can create.

Other additions including siege weapon wielding towers and a variety of spells give the player something to keep track of when they're not actively engaged in a strategic push. This keeps you on your toes, but their effects are mostly uninspired, ranging from direct damage to reinforcing your structures - at best it throws a wrench in your plans when used against you, or creates an unfair advantage when deployed against the AI.

While the campaign is significant and riddled with silliness that keeps you smiling, the difficulty does occasionally spike inconsistently, with periods of dull repetition kicking in now and then as well. It's a roller-coaster of sorts, but one that's less compelling and more unpredictable.

Lastly, it's a shame the game feels as though it has been created with the iPad in mind despite having separate executables in the App Store. The miniscule interface on the iPhone and iPod Touch isn't a deal-breaker, but keeping track of everything can become an eyestrain.

If you love your Galcon-like titles, there's no reason not to check Fantasy Conflict out - it's not entirely original, but it brings enough to the table to keep you entertained.