It's still not cut and dried, though. These are independent creatures that run away when the odds are against them, or wander off for food when stomachs start to rumble. It's only when you begin to make use of spells that you can use various methods to directly control the stubborn ones. The most important of these spells is Possess. Click on a creature and the camera swoops into a first-person view, giving you full Quake-style control over your minion. It also gives the underling increased strength, and those around you increased courage.

There's also nothing quite like walking around the dungeon you've created, either. Most of the game is spent in a somewhat top-down view, but it uses the same 3D engine in first-person, so everything looks just as detailed from ground-level. It's an impressive feature, particularly when you've got a 3D card.

The complexity of the game stems from juggling your resources: gold which is mined out by Imps, the workers of your dungeon; finding the space to build rooms (another task for the Imps); maintaining a good source of mana (essential for spell casting), keeping the Imps alive; and actually completing your mission - defeat the Lord of each Land to gain a Gem.

The 20 levels are, we're pleased to say, extremely varied, and, after the first five or so 'getting to know you' maps, get increasingly tricky. The only slight problem is that each is still somewhat structured, generally consisting of puzzles that require solving, such as getting over lava before you discover how to build Stone Bridges, and fitting a complete dungeon within the confines of solid rock (which can't be excavated).

Yet the design is so exemplary that these 20 levels, the one-player Skirmish and four-player online option demand weeks of play. It's dastardly good fun, just as long as you have some patience.