When Rolando first washed up on the App Store's shores, it became the first iPhone's first exclusive critical darling. Lauded as a PSP-quality game selling for peanuts, it's earned the place in the heart of many an iPhone gamer. Of course, all that really means is that Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid has even more of a legacy to live up to. Once again though, the development duties are in the safe hands of Hand Circus, and they haven't half done well.

Rolando 2 starts where the original Rolando left off. In the first level, you head up to the king Rolando's castle, ready to be lavished with praise and glory. Just as it's about to be bestowed on your circular self, some of the elder rolandos start to turn a disconcerting shade of green. 

As it turns out, you've managed to bring an illness back with you on the boat and the only cure is within the rare Golden Orchid, which grows on a faraway peak all the way over on another island. And so the adventure begins...

The gameplay will be instantly familiar to those who have played the original Rolando. You select your rolandos by tapping them or drawing a box around them, and then roll them around the level by tilting your iPhone. Swiping upwards on the touchscreen will make your selected rolando(s) jump.

There are more than 40 levels in total, each featuring a blend of action and puzzling. The action generally comes to the fore when you get to step into Rolando 2's new vehicles. Since your rolandos are peace loving little guys, they generally can't do much damage on their own, but put them inside a spinning wheel of death - yep there's one of those in the game - and you can give the aggressive natives what for.

In each level, you've got three objectives. The primary one is to get a certain number of rolandos to the exit, generally all of them. Then, there are crystals strewn throughout each level for you to collect, and you gain a third medal for completing the level in a certain time frame. Manage all three and the level will be marked with a crest on the level select screen, but completing all three is by no means mandatory.

However, these objectives are less hardcore than those of Rolando 2's predecessor, making them both more fun to complete and even more compulsive. Seeing a map screen full of white level circles, showing you that while you've completed a level you haven't completed all the objects, is enough to spur any gamer on to go that extra mile - even the casual crowd.

Rolando 2 also features improved graphics. Using a 2.5D graphics engine instead of Rolando's flat 2D visuals, the game's added depth (y'know, in the visual sense) helps make the world seem that little bit more dynamic. Add this to the damnably cute characters, the awesomely catchy music by Mr. Scruff and the grin-inducing gameplay and you've got a winning game.

Rolando 2 is only takes a few steps on from the original Rolando, but moving on a small way from one of the best games available for the iPhone isn't bad going - anything but. In short, Rolando 2 is a triumph.