There's no shame in admitting that we all get sucked into the war between style and substance at times. The ideal is to find a balance, but sometimes games like AdventureQuest Worlds show up that are unabashedly fighting on the front lines. This free-to-try fantasy MMO plays right in your browser and serves up some of the coolest looking gear around, but it's often buried in layers of confusion and monotony.
What if famed Wizard of Oz author Frank L. Baum had been able to peek ahead into the future and seen Pokémon's massive popularity? And what if he decided to include Nintendo's pocket monster-style battles into his literature? Would the flying monkeys' attack on Tin Man be considered "super effective?" Would Toto have launched himself at the tornado at the story's opening, possibly with disastrous results? We'll never know, but there are others who are willing to cross-breed the properties. Little Box, for instance, is working on an iOS RPG that brings monster fighting to the merry old Land of Oz.
When you get right down to it, Warhammer Quest is a fairly straightforward action-RPG that's set in a generic fantasy world. This is actually good news though, because despite taking place in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, familiarity with that setting - which many potential players, myself included, completely lack - isn't necessary to enjoy it. The better news is that you will enjoy it, because while it may not be particularly revolutionary, it is extremely well-refined.
It's unfortunate, but I found my principal enjoyment of Castlot in the names that some of its most devoted players use to refer to it in the public and alliance chat channels. One person calls it "Cashalot," while recounting the dozens of dollars he spent on protection scrolls to level; another calls it "Cast Lots," referring to a gambling-based resource game. They speak from long experience. After all, Castlot isn't exactly a new social strategy game - it's been around for a couple years in beta, and the recent update simply introduced some upgrades to the gameplay and aesthetics. But if my couple of hours with it were enough to serve as any indication, they're not necessarily substantial enough to warrant casting lots of your own in the hope of a better experience.
We've role-played fantasy worlds to death. Been there, slain that. What we haven't done nearly as much is explore real life settings, which can be plenty compelling in their own right. Expeditions: Conquistador by Logic Artists is here to help us rectify that, by allowing players to head up voyages to the New World of the 16th Century. Adventure, turn-based combat, intrigue, and a chance at fame and fortune are waiting.
You ever spend six digits on a brand new sports car after admiring it from afar, only to get it home and find out that mechanical issues kept it from being as awesome as you expected? Me neither, actually. But I imagine it would feel similar to playing Zynga's latest action-RPG, Battlestone. It looks great, and it drives... er, plays smooth, but there are definitely a few gremlins under the hood.
Sometimes you play a game that simply blows you away from the get-go: impressing both in terms of visuals and gameplay. Then you discover that the majority of the game was created by a single person, and the gravity of the experience knocks you off your feet just a little bit more.
Battlestone is an action game from Zynga Inc., in which you will be asked to form a powerful team of warriors and then use them to fight the forces found in the Battlestones. In order to form a great team that can conquer all of the evil found within, you will need all of the help you can get. With Gamezebo's quick start guide, you'll have all of the tips, tricks, and walkthroughs you need to stay ahead of the game.