It's no secret that the mobile-gaming market is a crowded place, and eking out a niche on the App Store is no easy task. So, Supercell can perhaps be forgiven for the aggressively generic title of their new strategy adventure, Pets vs Orcs. The game makes a great first impression, but is this animal kingdom built to last?
It's interesting how, in this age of advanced gaming technology, we arm ourselves with portable systems and smartphones only to buy the same simple-looking, merciless games that made us bleed and cry in the age of the Commodore 64. Of course, there's a reason for that: sometimes it feels good to get flogged by a game. It's like being pushed over and laughed at by a bully. We stagger to our feet because, man, we gotta prove something.
Packaging hardcore gameplay with casual sensibilities seems like a no-brainer when it comes to developing for Facebook. 6waves has just released their latest adventure, Toy Attack, onto the platform, borrowing from an assortment of real-time strategy (RTS) games whilst simplifying its mechanics in ways social gamers can easily relate to. The experience is easy to jump into, but the hobbled-together design squeaks and screeches at every turn.
Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is a tactical RPG from Red Wasp Design set against the backdrop of World War One Lovecraftian horror. Having trouble vanquishing the dark forces of the Mythos? If so here are a few hints and tips to help tip the balance of play in your favour.
Virtual wars are the fuel that feed gaming fires. We simply can't seem to get enough simulated combat. Of course, nothing's better than sharing destruction with friends, and Social Point has answered the call with Social Wars for Facebook. Is this military adventure worthy of a medal, or will players find themselves in a futile conflict?
I'm a proud member of the original Magic: The Gathering generation. In fact, I've still got my original deck sitting around here somewhere, with its (incredibly dated) powerhouse cards like The Abyss, Vesuvian Dopplegangers, and a beat-up Black Lotus. As a result, I was really interested to try out Magic: The Gathering - Tactics, which promised an experience that's both simultaneously familiar and new. After spending some time with the game, I have to say that it's certainly not bad, but it's not nearly as much fun as I remember the original card game being.
H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos has been undergoing a well-deserved resurgence in popularity lately. While books, films, toys, board, and video games have all seen the big guy's tentacles appear, iOS devices have been largely neglected… until now, that is. After a lot of build-up, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land arrived on the App Store last week and was immediately called out for some pretty big issues thanks to major bugs. Red Wasp Design has since then released an update which has done a lot to help the game ascend to its full glory.
While political or religious imprisonment is something (thankfully) most of us will never have to deal with, those ideas are brought to life in the upcoming Japanese-style strategy/role-playing game Telepath RPG: Servants of God. After your family is taken prisoner by a new regime, the religious group Cult of Yawah, which has overthrown the existing government of your homeland, you'll be recruited into the cult's ranks as a tactician. The ultimate goal in Telepath RPG: Servants of God will be to restore democracy and order Ravinale, the small city-state in the desert.