These days it's almost too easy for a game to get away with calling itself a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) release. Tack a few extra players onto your game, give 'em each a turn, and "PRESTO!"... you've technically got yourself an MMO. That's not the case when it comes to Spacetime Studios' ambitious 3D action/RPG game, Pocket Legends. When these guys call a game an MMO, they mean it. And when it comes to giving gamers a rich, online role playing experience? Well, it just doesn't get any better than this.

Pocket Legends should feel like second nature to action/RPG fans. Players can choose from three available (and stereotypical) character classes. There's the bear warrior (tank), the feline enchantress (mage), and the avian archer (ranger). After choosing a class, players jump right into the obligatory tutorial where they learn the basics of gameplay. Movement is handled nicely with a virtual joystick, and attacking enemies is as simple as targeting an enemy by touching it and then tapping the auto attack button. The best thing about the auto attack is that it makes it a snap to avoid enemy attack while whittling away your foes' health. Naturally there's plenty of loot to be had, either dropped by enemies, found in treasure chests, or bought from nearby merchants.

While Pocket Legends is regularly compared to World of Warcraft, that's not really a fair comparison. You're not going to have epic 100 man raids or long treks to vast, open worlds. Instead, players meet up in one of the game's major city hubs, pick up quests and equipment, and then team up in groups of up to four large to journey through portals to take on the challenges via smaller instances. In fact, Pocket Legends actually has more in common with another of Blizzard's popular franchises, Diablo.

What makes Pocket Legends stand out from the rest of its mobile MMO competition is how closely it measures up as a full-on action RPG experience, on par with, or in many ways even surpassing, similar games on dedicated portable consoles like the Nintendo DS or Sony's PSP. Visually, while the game's 3D presentation looks great on the iPad's larger HD screen, what's even more impressive is how smooth and detailed the game runs even on the smaller iPhone and Android devices. More than once, I actually forgot that I was playing a game on my phone ... well, right up until it started to ring.

One of the coolest things about Pocket Legends' is its persistent online status. This means that you rarely ever need to go questing alone. As soon as you log in, there's always someone online to join you in your dungeon crawls. Best of all, the online play works just as smoothly whether you're connected via Wi-Fi or over your carrier's 3G or 4G cellular service. Admittedly, the game's social functions are still pretty bare at the moment, with no support for things like guilds. There's a basic friend list to help keep in touch with your friends, but that's about it.

Pocket Legends is available to iPad, iPhone, and Android users as a free download. You might wonder how Spacetime Studios could just give away a game like this. Well, that's where microtransactions come into play. Like a lot of casual games these days, the first taste is free, but the extra are gonna cost ya. By spending Pocket Legends' in-game currency, players can purchase new gear, extra character and inventory slots, and even entire campaigns to expand their characters' adventures. Players earn Platinum Coins by trying out sponsored apps or through other specials offered in the game's menu, or for those out there not feeling up to playing test pilot for some other apps, you can buy the Platinum Coins outright. Of course, even if you never spend a single dime on the extra content, there's still more than enough content to keep you entertained.

For action RPG fans, Pocket Legends is a near perfect portable treat. Packing in a concentrated dose of fantasy, hack n' slash action into a bite sized morsel, that's just right for satisfying that hunger for adventure you feel during your down time. Whether teaming with your friends or finding some new ones in the game, a fun-filled multiplayer experience is never further away than your pocket.

Final Score: A+