We like Doodle Hex's symbol drawing spell casting mechanic. It's fun, addictive and surprisingly rewarding. The Japanese manga style feel lends a certain charm, but we're not so sure about the characters, who feel a little clichéd to us (black rapper from the Bronx, Spanish gypsy, Emo girl from Camden). The story cutscenes and spell animations are nice enough but not the most spectacular we've seen on the DS. And there are some obvious problems with localisation too. We noticed more than one embarrassing mistake with the English text, but there's no reason to doubt these won't be ironed out before release too.

Doodle Hex should be on any discerning DS owner's radar. What's most important is that its main hook - drawing symbols to cast spells - works well. And, if you like that, there's tons to do in the game. Each character has his or her own set of runes and combos (there are literally hundreds) to learn. Then there are characters to unlock, as well as other secret runes awarded by completing specific one off challenges. Doodle Hex is a clever idea on a console full of clever ideas. We can't wait to get doodling with the final version.