Bring The Noise Gaming: Browser Game

Showing posts with label Browser Game. Show all posts

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Browser Game Review: Nords - Heroes of the North

Browser Game Review:

Nords - Heroes of the North

The most basic of internet functions, the web browser, has been the launching platform for many, many games. These titles include Crystal Saga, Evony, Stormfall, and so many others. The focus for this review, however, will be centralized on "Nords - Heroes of the North." And for good reason.

"Nords - Heroes of the North" is a fantastic empire building game that focuses on building up a stronghold with the resources available so that the player can overtake their fellow facebookers on a massively scaled battlefield. There are four resource types: Fire Ale, Mushrooms, Fish, and Emeralds. While the first three resources can be gained from within the walls of the player's stronghold, the Emeralds are gained in a variety of ways. The first and quite obvious way is to pay real cash to get your hands on these golden beauties. They are also acquired by completing quests or by hitting certain achievement thresholds, but they can also be obtained by competing in the global-scale tournaments that take place on a daily basis.

The progression of the player's stronghold also holds quite a unique path. There are far too many options to be able to go into great depth, so we'll just stick with the basics. Firstly, there are blood pacts, that unlock certain units as well as upgrade them. Once certain upgrades are reached, the player will then have access to different "races" of warriors, each one progressively better than the last. These races include: Northmen, Orcs, and Elves. The player starts off with the Northman class, but once the correct blood pacts and barracks are built, access to Orcs and Elves will become available. One more unit type that the player has access to is that of the Dragon. Dragon-class warriors are by far the most superior, but only limited access is granted at first. Overall, these diversifying racial qualities add to the depth of the game.

While resources are great and a broad warrior pool is mouth watering, what really takes the cake in this empire building, battle rager of a game, is the actual combat system. When it comes to real-time empire games, Nords can be considered a breath of fresh air. The combat system separates the units into three different categories: Scouting, Offense, and Defense. At this point, it becomes the player's decision to focus on whether they want to be a full-blown raiding terror on the lands of Shingard, or if they would rather turtle up and protect their precious resources from the claws of their would-be tyrant neighbors. To also add to this concept, there is an extremely useful "Clan" option that gives the player the choice to join up with like-minded folks in order to vie for dominance in group raids.

The major downside to this game, is the fact that pretty much all aspects of the game take FOREVER to build. So if you don't exactly have too much time to dilly dally with real-time games in general, Nords is definitely out of reach.

In conclusion, if you have plenty of time on your hands, are looking for just some sort of time-killer to keep your attention, or just like real-time empire building games then "Nords - Heroes of the North" is the right game for you!

For more information on "Nords - Heroes of the North" please visit:

http://plarium.com/en/strategy-games/nords-heroes-of-the-north/

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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Browser Game Review: King of Towers

"King of Towers" is a game that delivers on expanding the tower defense genre by adding several features that include an RPG element as well as in-depth kingdom-building.

When one thinks of "Tower Defense" immediate the idea of strategic placement of towers to stop baddies comes to mind. There are hundreds, if not thousands of Tower Defense titles out there that most certainly uphold the truest of genre expectations. "King of Towers," however, separates itself from the crowd with it's unique "kingdom" idea. While there are the standard missions that test your wit and intelligence with tower placement, it's actually the time between missions that makes the most impact.

There are so many features that are included with the game that make it a truly unique experience. First and foremost, there is an actual "side quest" bar that attributes the player with a plethora of resources based upon the objective completed. From experience, to gold, to inventory items, these quests are a surefire way to keep the user interested in playing the game and even achieving certain goals. With these side quests, there is also the entire kingdom that needs to be considered. Consisting of one screen cram-packed with so many buildings, it becomes quite clear that this isn't your average "beat it and delete it" type of game. It's this exact concept that will send "King of Towers" to the top of any strategy game enthusiast.

There are even sign-in bonuses and online rewards that can be redeemed based upon a certain time-frame or over the completion of logins in a certain succession. The game even goes one step further to include an inventory with a plethora of items and several "heroes" that the player can not only train, but also fully customize. Other features include a "taxes" system, a PvP option to take on other players, and several different zones/difficulty levels to ensure that the player never gets bored.

Now, with all of this taken into account, it should be pointed out that it could be quite confusing to start off with. Considering there are in fact so many things to do/upgrade/accomplish, newcomers might find themselves getting lost at some points with the slightly muddled interface. This might discourage some players, but after a while, the ideas become more of a second nature. Just hang in there!

Overall, "King of Towers" brings a refreshing concept to the table, especially when it comes to browser-based strategy games. And although it may not be the first true RPG/Tower Defense hybrid, it definitely makes a strong case for itself when compared with other options.

For more information on this game, please visit:

http://www.shinezone.com/games?gid=3

To play "King of Towers" for yourself, please visit:

http://armorgames.com/the-king-of-towers-game/15924
(Note: An Armor Games account is required)

Browser Game Review: Seventh Saga

As most alpha/beta gamers out there know, Unity is a great tool that brings forth great games from great ideas. One such game is "Seventh Saga."

In this simple yet addictive game brought to us by DragonXVI, the player controls a demon-like entity whose only mission is to corrupt the land and slay whoever gets in the way. Sounds simple enough, right? Here's the catch, it revolves around the concept that every time the player makes a move, so do the enemies on the board. What I mean by that is, when the player moves over a tile, any enemies that are around will attempt to move closer and ultimately attack. The overall goal as the warlord is to capture key points, that vary in difficulty and range.

While the concept is very basic, the difficulty of achieving said goals is what makes this game so much fun. The player can't just simply dive at a target village/spire/castle, they have to strategically capture smaller targets in order to tackle the bigger structures. This can be quite nerve wracking if the points aren't captured in a somewhat specific order. But again, this is where the fun begins. As the user captures rally points, those rally points will begin to produce demonic minions to aid their warlord in the battle against the righteous. Also, once captured, said rally points will begin corrupting the land around it in a random fashion that crawls outward. These corrupted tiles will give the player an added attack bonus so that our villain can ultimately conquer the land!

Another neat little feature that this game offers is the ability to slay animals, so that all that is left is a hunk of meat, which in turn regenerates health. This is such a cool feature because it allows the player to set up little "pit stops" should their HP fall below a desired point.

But wait, there's more! While the hunks of meat obtained from slain pigs/lambs/rabbits give back a small amount of health, leveling up will restore the player's HP to the maximum amount, allowing for ultimate carnage while in the midst of battle.

Taking all of this into consideration, the creator of this game really knew what they were doing and anybody who plays it, will most certainly agree!

For more information on this game, or to play "Seventh Saga," please visit:

http://www.alphabetagamer.com/seventh-saga-game-jam-build/

Browser Game Review: Neuronball

If you are looking for a game that combines the world of robotics with the concepts of competition and team management, then Neuronball might just be for you!

There is so much that can be said of this wonderfully addictive and funny little game. So let's just delve right in. For starters, the game is absolutely free to play and it has a nice pay-to-play model. What's great about Neuronball's pay-to-play options is the simple fact that there is no "necessity" pay. There are so many things that the player can do in order to rank up and make credits (the in-game currency) without paying a single dime. That said, should one feel the obligation to support the game's development, there are plenty of payment options that won't break the bank, nor will the payment seem wasted.

So... it's free to play. That's great in and of itself, but what really separates this game from the rest of the crowd is the actual concept: create a team of A.I. controlled robots (called Neurons) and pit your team against other player-managed teams and go for the gold! The competition is global and it's a really fascinating idea. There is no player interaction with the robots when the matches actually start. It is really all up to your Neurons to outsmart the opponent and score goals in a soccer-like environment.

As said above, your Neurons are A.I. controlled, but the game gives you so many ways that you can manage the impact of your Neurons out on the field. The first of these options is the simple "leveling" factor. As your games are played, and depending on a lot of factors that take place during each match, the Neurons will gain experience. After a certain experience threshold is achieved, the Neurons level up and this gives you attribute points that can be used to upgrade certain aspects of each Neuron. While the "level up" system is a great way to enhance Neuron performance, there is also "Headquarters" where you, the player/team manager, can build a wide assortment of buildings to help improve everything from Neuron performance to experience boosts to a factory that allows the building of additional Neurons.

Another great thing that this game has to offer is the user-friendly atmosphere. The interface is so easy to read and the site navigation is so simple, anybody can register and within 30 seconds the games can begin. Neuronball is also constantly updating the site and registers announcements to the players so that nobody is left out in the dark.

All in all, Neuronball is a fun, one-of-a-kind experience that pretty much anybody and everybody can enjoy!

For more information on this game and to register/play for yourself, please visit:

http://www.neuronball.com