Rising Generals is a brand new title from Hamburg-based games studio InnoGames and marks the developer’s first departure from historical settings. The studio has previously released widely successful MMO titles such as Tribal Wars and Forge Of Empires to audiences around the globe.
This time around the medieval settings are out in favour of some modern warfare, but with a distinct 1980’s aroma.
We’ve had some hands-on time with the game on both Android and iOS and with both tablets and smartphones, and here’s exactly what we think.
This is the first time InnoGames has built a title directly for mobile devices and you can really feel the quality compared to the ports of previous titles. The game controls really feel built for the touch controls.
On the move over to mobile devices, InnoGames has kept the mid-hardcore edge which previous titles have boasted. It would have been easier to limit the difficulty and features of the game to appeal to a more casual audience but it’s still a full blown strategy MMO on your smartphone or tablet.
We played the title on an iPad, iPhone and Android device and the experience was fantastic on each. Overall the gameplay was better on the iPad purely for the larger screen, so this likely going to prove a popular title with tablet owning strategy buffs.
You start off in a single base inside your world and the first job at hand is to built it up and conquer as much of the area around you as possible. From the get-go you can zoom out to see the rest of the world immediately but it’s better to keep the focus on home at the beginning.
Gameplay elements range from recruiting your soldiers, researching new technologies, building useful buildings, forming alliances and battling other players.
PvP battles are right at the heart of the title and with game worlds holding up to 40,000 players each, there will be plenty of targets to unleash your arsenal upon. Battles take place by directing your troops into combat, but the actual warzones are 3D real time graphics but it’s just a case of sitting back to watch, there’s no interaction in the fights themselves.
Essentially it’s a case of whoever has the most troops wins, which is a bit of a shame. What makes up for it is the wide variety of troop options which range from infantry to combat vehicles, including tanks and a wide variety of different attack aircraft.
Graphically the game has taken a step up from previous InnoGames titles and the art style reflects an 80’s action movie warfare flavour. It’s a nice little touch which comes across equally well in the games sound track; you can feel the over the top action scores coming through and they really suit the graphical style.
Other elements include sending in spies to enemy encampments and trying to keep the morale up among your troops, they can leave if you forget to pay them. The level of detail here is fascinating and even though this is a mobile title it’s not recommended for the faint hearted.
Being a mobile free-to-play title you’d think we are deep into micro-payment territory, but thankfully we’re not.
InnoGames said that fast paced, smaller sessions are right at the heart of the title. Unlike the usual 'press-a-button-and-wait-for-your-reward' model employed by various free-to-play games, InnoGames has turned the concept on its head.
You still have to wait, or pay real money to avoid waiting, but you get the reward right away and wait to do the same thing over again. This way if you want those extra 10 attack helicopters you can have them and use them right away. It’s a much better technique than having to wait days on end just to do one job.
Rising Generals won’t revolutionise the strategy MMO genre, maybe a few casual players will jump in and stay but that’s not what the move to mobile signalises. What it will do is bring the strategy MMO experience to a portable platform in a way not achieved in many attempts beforehand.
If strategy MMO’s are your bag and you’re a fan of the modern warfare setting, be sure to jump into Rising Generals once it’s released on iOS, Android and desktop browsers later this year.
by jamesp via Featured Articles
Posts
No comments: