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Tag: Strategy

  • Dead Man’s Draw Review
    Reviews
    • iOS
    Dead Man’s Draw Review

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    Nothing's quite as much fun as when a developer surprises you with something totally outside of its normal comfort zone. Like, how much fun would it be if Rockstar made a casual party game? Okay, maybe that's not the best example, but Stardock did something almost as intriguing by taking some time off from 4X strategy games to create Dead Man's Draw. If pirates had iOS devices in the golden age of seafaring, it's easy to imagine them playing this card game that tests your wits and nerve in equal amounts.The object of Dead Man's Draw is deceptively simple: have more points than your opponent once you finish drawing cards and the deck is gone. But this is no ordinary deck. It's got 10 suits, all of which are suitably piratey (if that's a word) things like treasure chests, hooks, cannons, and mermaids. Each suit contains only the numbers two through seven, and only the highest card that you hold in each suit at the end of the game counts toward your total score."On your turn, you can draw as many cards as you want, provided no two are from the same suit. Doing that immediately ends your turn and sends everything you've drawn to that point to the discard pile. Stop in time and you add all of the cards you've drawn to your collection, with your score changing to reflect any high cards in each suit.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War Review
    Reviews
    Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War Review

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    It seems sort of blasphemous to say, but old Captain Jack Sparrow got overexposed. Sure, we all love Johnny Depp's eccentric rogue; it's just that he wears on you after seeing him in four movies, video games, and everything else Disney has devised. Ironically, Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War could use more of Captain Jack or his friends to keep it from turning into just another social RPG/builder with a pirate theme - which it does a little too often.The shame of it is that the game starts out with oh so much promise. Right after we learn that Isles of War is set before Curse of the Black Pearl, we get a quick reintroduction to Sparrow while we're learning the click-and-drag controls so we can navigate the high seas. In classic Pirates fashion, Jack ends up deciding that discretion is the better part of valor the first time there's trouble, forcing the "Two Brave Heroes" chapter to become "One Brave Hero" as he heads the other way. With the familiar music from the films playing in the background, it sets the perfect tone as you begin your adventures."A double cross ensues, naturally, and without giving too much away, let's just say you end up in need of a ship and Sparrow possibly requires rescuing. That's when we get down to business learning the builder side of the game, as you set up shop on an island that needs your aid as much as you need its resources. There's really not much new to see here: you build structures to increase your stores of lumber and iron, while erecting defenses on the island and researching new ships and cannons.
  • Kingdoms & Monsters Walkthrough
    Walkthroughs
    • Android
    Kingdoms & Monsters Walkthrough

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    Kingdoms & Monsters is a social game created by Mobile Monsters. In it, you'll build a kingdom, gather resources, and complete quests. Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game."
  • Fates Forever Preview
    Upcoming
    • Android
    • iOS
    Fates Forever Preview

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    If it's possible for a wide-eyed dreamer and a logic-minded pragmatist to coexist in the same brain, you can find them in the mind of Jason Citron. You can hear both sides of this seemingly oxymoronic arrangement emerge when listening to him talk about his current company, Hammer & Chisel, and the game he's hoping will have core gamers logging hours of play on their tablets, Fates Forever.Citron's status as a visionary in the mobile gaming space is undeniable. As the founder and CEO of Aurora Feint, he was a bona fide App Store pioneer, getting the game of the same name into the very first wave of apps to hit the storefront. He's probably even better known as the developer of OpenFeint, the late, mostly lamented social platform that was purchased by GREE in 2011 only to be shut down 20 months later.With time and money to plan his next venture, it wasn't long before Citron got the itch to dive back into gaming. But as a self-described core gamer, he has a different goal in mind for Hammer & Chisel. He wants to prove that the same kind of experience that people have come to expect from consoles or PCs is possible on tablets.
  • Call to Arms Preview
    Upcoming
    • iOS
    Call to Arms Preview

    By

    GREE's upcoming Call to Arms isn't attempting to reinvent the wheel. It's simply aiming to be a higher-quality wheel that will be appreciated by a wider array of wheel enthusiasts, and roll better on whatever terrain it is placed. Time is the only way we'll know for sure if people want to invest in a new wheel, but GREE's efforts and little changes to the design are great steps in the right direction.The wheel I speak of, of course, is Supercell's Clash of Clans. Often imitated but never duplicated, Clash has been sitting pretty at the top of the mobile strategy world for some time. Other developers have made attempts to jump into this space, but even the ones with an Android presence (whereas Clash was only up until recently a long-time iOS-exclusive) fail to stand on their own. GREE has been taking notes on these efforts. They've been quietly working on Call to Arms."We recently had an opportunity to briefly speak with members of the Call to Arms development team and check out a bit of the gameplay. They weren't shy about their similarities to Clash of Clans, having even name dropped it a couple times during our discussion. During our first glance at the game, the similarities were unmistakably similar, as well.  Base construction, resource gathering, army building, and even battles don't really do much to separate this game from its inspiration. However, GREE has been putting effort into the details.
  • Dragon Realms Preview
    Upcoming
    • Android
    • iOS
    Dragon Realms Preview

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    GREE's upcoming title Dragon Realms is visually fluid. Seriously, I could spend an hour just watching enemies marching around on the screen (and when I'm done writing, I may very well do that). The latest entry in GREE's RPG+ franchise looks to further blend simplicity and depth. Slick visuals, tons of single player content, and an emphasis on guild play drive the title forward as we near its launch.Guilds were one of the biggest points of emphasis when we spoke to GREE earlier this week. In many mobile and free-to-play games, guilds and alliances are just there. Developers seem to put them into the game because players expect to have the option to join a guild, even if nothing of value results from the opportunity. While guild-based quests and events are nothing out of the ordinary, GREE is making a few moves that add to the traditional guild functions."One of the neatest functions is the inclusion of guild bonuses. Guilds have a list of bonuses that can be purchased to better support the team and its members. When a member has enough gold, he or she can purchase a bonus. These bonuses range from increasing the maximum number of guild members to increasing the effectiveness of certain character skills. These power-ups and abilities aim to help players tackle events.
  • Greed for Glory: War Strategy Review
    Reviews
    • Android
    Greed for Glory: War Strategy Review

    By

    Greed for Glory: War Strategy enters the freemium field with exciting but strangely run-of-the-mill gameplay. It's similar to titles like Battle Dragons and Clash of Clans: the only real difference being a new setting and art style. But despite lacking any sort of innovation, PerBlue's medieval-themed building/combat sim will keep you strangely captivated for weeks on end. Just go easy on the diamonds, okay?Greed for Glory puts you at the helm of a small village looking to become more than a collection of wooden huts. Build new structures as you mine iron and gold, collecting as much currency as you can so you can raise a massive army of archers, knights, and wizards. With all of those trained soldiers milling around, might as well head out and attack nearby villages, right? Increase your fame (and your loot) by sacking other towns, slowly expanding and upgrading your base to accommodate your newfound power and glory.Greed for Glory sticks with the basics as far as building and resource management are concerned. A simple icon-based menu system allows you to choose which structures to place and where to place them. Quarries and mines pull iron and gold out of the ground, while barracks let you train troops to send into battle. Builder shops house workers, trebuchets fling stones at enemies, and still more buildings help you store your riches, upgrade your armies, and keep your village safe from attack. The screen is a little cluttered with information, but it's something you quickly learn to ignore, as what's happening in the center is far more interesting!
  • Combat Monsters Preview
    Upcoming
    • Android
    • iOS
    • PC
    Combat Monsters Preview

    By

    I've been playing a game called Combat Monsters recently, and although it's still in beta, I have to say that I'm very impressed. Rubicon Development, the studio behind the game, describes it as a combination of "a traditional RPG battler with a deck constructing game," and while I'm not entirely sure what that means, the most obvious influence is Magic: The Gathering."I've been an avid player of [Magic: The Gathering] all my life, but it's always annoyed me in a way that the online game is still just a card game, but online," Rubicon co-founder and managing director Paul Johnson said. "I wanted to make something in a similar mold, with similar mechanics, but have a proper tactical element to it; and a game board to move your pieces around on.""Thus, Combat Monsters. The game takes place on a virtual game board that changes in shape and size between matches, rendered in 3D, on which you'll place and equip monsters, cast spells, play magical runes, and more. But rather than simply controlling the action from on high, you're represented on the board as a playable character, as is your enemy. Victory is earned by slaying your enemy's avatar; defeat comes if he does the same to you.