It might be winter, but things are starting to heat up on the 2017 mobile gaming scene. This week we've got bad guys to fight, tanks to blow up, mazes to circumvent, loot to acquire, and a galaxy to explore. All out now for your gaming enjoyment.
Lords of the Fallen [ iOS | Android ]
Lords of the Fallen is a real-time, one-on-one, slash-to-attack combat game. You've got to move quick to parry, dodge, or block the enemy's attack and then strike fast and hard before they can swing again. There are magical spells and buffs to augment your attacks and combo attacks that can leave your opponent dazed. Combat is fast paced and favors a fast-twitch style of play. In other words…I'm terrible at this game. We've got a review coming, however, from somebody who is (hopefully) not terrible at this type of game. Until then, I can tell you that the graphics are pretty cool and the touchscreen controls are pretty intuitive. If real-time dueling is your thing you might want to "FINISH HIM" on your iOS or Android device.
RPS Saga [ iOS | Android ]
RPS Saga is a quick and easy card-based combat game. You pick a character and fight a series of duels against other characters using rock-paper-scissors mechanics. Each character has special abilities that break the rules a bit and add a bit of spice to the duels and there are a bunch of characters to collect. Each of which has a storyline you can progress through to gain XP and unlock new abilities. The story is tough to follow, it's not in English though it sounds like a translation is coming, but I'm guessing it is pretty basic. You aren't playing this one for the story.
The reason to grab RPS Saga is if you want a lightweight, low stress, combat __game that you can pick up here and there and won't set you back much (it's only a dollar). Choose rock, paper, or scissors on iOS or Android.
The Horus Heresy: Battle of Tallarn [ iOS ]
Who ordered all the tanks? The Horus Heresy: Battle of Tallarn is all about tank warfare and plays out a pivotal battle in the Horus Heresy series' storyline. There are 66 different units and 54 different weapons, so a huge variety to play around with and the battles seem to emphasize good use of tactics—line-of-sight, flanking maneuvers, attacking the rear of enemy tanks—and the proper deployment of units. At times combat does seem a little too random, however, and the graphics aren't exactly state of the art.
There also seems to be only one best strategy to accomplish any given battle, so my impression is that replayability will be low, but there's over forty missions to play through between the three campaigns and standalone missions so that may not matter to you. Despite some flaws, blowing up enemy tanks can be a good time and fans of the series will likely enjoy taking up arms for the Imperial or Traitor forces. Hit the App Store and then the battlefield if you want to get your tank on.
Maze Lord [ iOS ]
If I hadn't known the name of this __game I would have assumed it was the next installment in the Dungelot series. Maze Lord uses many of the same art assets. It's a puzzle game that plays a lot like a roguelike, something of a trend these days. You play through a series of levels where the goal is to reach the exit in the fewest possible moves. You're awarded one to three stars based on how frugal you were with your steps. Naturally it isn't as easy as going right for the exit for there are monsters to fight, and defeating one will cost you one of your three life.
There's also keys you'll need to recover to open gates, potions to restore health, coins to bribe guards, a merchant that'll wheel and deal for what you need, and more obstacles to overome. The challenge comes in figuring out your order of operations so you don't, you know, die. Maze Lord is fun and reasonably challenging, if not terribly deep, and has a whole bunch of levels you can play through. This maze is only accessible through your iOS device.
Guild of Dungeoneering: Ice Cream Headaches [ iOS | Android ]
Guild of Dungeoneering is one of my favorite games of 2016 and got full marks from Tof in our review back in July. It's like a pen-and-paper role-playing game where you act as both Dungeon Master and player. You start out as the Dungeon Master and attempt to lead your independently minded adventurer from tile to tile and toward the ultimate goal. When it's time to fight, you become that same adventurer and play out cards from a combat deck to (hopefully) put down whatever dastardly creature stands in your path. The overarching goal is to earn loot through your largely expendable adventurers and upgrade your guild hall.
The game is already full of content and the mobile version just got its second expansion, Ice Cream Headaches, last Wednesday. The expansion allows you to quest through the snowy mountains, visit the vaunted ice-cream monks, and battle new monsters like the Slushie Elemental and Pygmy Mammoth. There are 21 new quests, 30 new monsters, and 3 new classes and the expansion also introduces "Favour", which is earned when you defeat a monster in a room with a Rune of Fate. You can spend favour to do things like draw extra cards in battle and purge weaker cards from your deck.
If you already own Guild of Dungeoneering the expansion is free, if not, the app's price has gone up a buck. It's still well worth the price of admission however, and the devs just keep on supporting this game. It's cheaper than a cone at Coldstone on iOS or Android.
Voyageur [ iOS | Android ]
Voyageur is an interactive science-fiction story where faster-than-light travel is a reality—though only in one direction, toward the center of the galaxy—thanks to a poorly understood alien artefact known as the Descent device. Humanity has replicated this technology and many have chosen to make use of it, despite the one-way trip. You are one such space traveller and your first choice in this adventure is why: Are you an explorer seeking knowledge and answers, an adventurer after wealth and interesting experiences, or are you looking to escape someone or something?
Voyageur is part choose-your-own-adventure book, part space trading game, and part literary RPG. There are endless worlds to explore and cultures and societies with which to interact. As you do so, you gain experience and your character stats (wits, grace, charm, and luck) improve, making certain things easier in the game. Your character also has a number of traits, like "sights of the galaxy" that increase as you see more and more of the game. Voyageur reminds me a lot of the old Space Trader games but with considerably more depth, and it's pretty compelling. If you're looking for an adventure through space fire up the Descent device and blast off to the center of the galaxy on iOS or Android.
That's it for this week's game suggestions - do you have any recommendations of your own? Share them in the comments below!
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