“I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” It’s not just the mantra that Chirrut Imwe made famous in Rogue One, it’s also what I mutter to myself before every battle in Star Wars: Force Arena. …
“I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” It’s not just the mantra that Chirrut Imwe made famous in Rogue One, it’s also what I mutter to myself before every battle in Star Wars: Force Arena.
Netmarble’s MOBA/card game mashup is a lot of fun, but I’ve been steadily getting my butt kicked as more people got into the beta. Now I expect the thrashing to intensify since Force Arena is finally available for everyone on iOS and Android. You can get a full rundown of my impressions of the pre-launch build for all the details, but the TL;DR version is that the game is what you’d get if Clash Royale and a Star Wars action game had a child together. And if that’s the way new games were created.
Each player has a main character, supplemented by a deck of cards that represent characters, weapons and vehicles from throughout Star Wars lore. The objective is to destroy the opposing player’s base before yours is blown up, taking out the turrets in each lane along the way. Instead of spawns like a traditional MOBA, you play cards to aid you as you build up enough energy to pay their costs. Things get even more hectic in 2v2 matches.
The game launches with more than 80 cards, including some with characters from Rogue One.
“We are thrilled to introduce Star Wars: Force Arena to Star Wars fans and mobile gamers alike, whether they defend the Empire or take up the Rebel cause,” Seungwon Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of Netmarble Games, said in a press release. “Players can collect their favorite Star Wars characters including Darth Vader, Han Solo and Jyn Erso to create their ideal battle squad and face off in real time within the Star Wars universe.”
Reflexes are definitely important, hence my complaining about losing so many matches. Still, it’s easy to grasp the basics, and the Star Wars hook is bound to prove irresistible to many fans.
To celebrate the Star Wars: Force Arena launch, players who check in from Jan. 12 through Jan. 20 will receive crystals (the game’s most important currency), leader cards and gold card packs. That’s reason enough to dive in now, which you can do by plotting a course to either the App Store or Google Play.
