While purists may feel the need to ruin the fun of those who enjoy the idea of horn-helmeted Vikings, others like Ailove are happy to embrace the concept by releasing a fun game based around these vicious sailors.

Viking Tales: Mystery Of Black Rock puts you at the helm of your very own longship, swiping the screen to move forward and swiping on either side of the boat to change directions. Double-fingered swipes will consume an available stamina bar, but you'll get a healthy speed boost, making it easy to slip away from dangerous foes. Occasionally you'll need to engage in combat by tapping enemies to fire your cannons, however this can be a bit tricky to manage while also attempting to dodge incoming projectiles.

Over the course of the game's story missions you'll perform basic tasks including defusing mines, rescuing drowning victims, looting enemy ships and yes, even pillaging a few villages. Additional collectables are also scattered around the levels, providing an additional challenge for completionists (or for those after a bit of replay value). At the end of each level you'll be awarded gold that can be spent on upgrading your ship, making later levels a little easier - though some levels can prove tricky until you realize you don't have to kill everyone in sight.

It should be pointed out that the developer is promising Retina graphics in a future update, however this seems hardly necessary considering how clean the visuals already are. Collision detection can be a bit difficult to manage at times, though you quickly learn what gaps can and can't be traveled through.

Viking Tales: Mystery Of Black Rock is a relatively short title, but it's certainly enjoyable to play and worth grabbing if you're after something a little more nautical in its persuasion.