DHrox
06-09-2009, 07:38 AM
Strongholds is a turn-based strategy game in which you play as a military base fighting another base. Attacks centeralize around the use of playing cards that have certain abilities. The player is awarded six of these cards and can either choose to use or discard one to get another card per turn. Abilities include an artillery barrage, barracks improvement, bombardments, etc. In general, I found that a balance of both defensive and offensive strikes were needed. I warn you that you might need to read the tutorial before playing as reading into the cards can be slightly difficult for newcomers. Once the player's fort has become upgraded enough into a superfortress, it's gameover for the opponent as the player's fort launches a nuke. Isn't that awesome?
When it comes to visuals this game is no slouch. There is an overall aesthetically pleasing look to the game. It is in 2D but has a nice depth perception without the use of 3D graphics. That is, one can get a feel for the thickness of fortress walls or the height of the fort. Overall, the art style is unified and attractive. However, what suffers here are the weapons effects. When I call in an artilery strike, I want to see something powerful erupt. I want to hear the THOOM-THOOM-THOOM of a cannon without actually hearing it. Instead, I was left with a bitter taste after the pew-pew-pew of my cannons tore apart the enemy fortress. I also wouldv'e liked to see more life in the backgrounds, but I also understand that there are limitations to what the dev can and can't do. Still, the visuals were still fairly nice.
Next on my list is the sound which for me was the weakest link. The sound quality simply did not hold up to what I had expected. There was no music at all and the sounds that were present were weak and unimpressive. Again, it's not a big problem since sound was not a major part of the game. Overall, the sound was functional.
Finally, the last points are the interface and controls. The interface was nice and clean. Everything on the menu was where I expected it to be. There was a nice tutorial which made everything on the cards much easier to understand. Accessing the menu was very easy and starting a game was also easy. In-game, the cards tended to make things a little cluttered and reading the cards themselves could also be challenging at times. However, the interface was generally well-done and clean. The controls were simple taps and were very responsive. They were good and allowed the game to be playable.
In conclusion, Strongholds is a great turn-based strategy game that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. The pros far outweigh the cons in the game. At $2.99, the game is a great deal and will provide a lot of replay time.
When it comes to visuals this game is no slouch. There is an overall aesthetically pleasing look to the game. It is in 2D but has a nice depth perception without the use of 3D graphics. That is, one can get a feel for the thickness of fortress walls or the height of the fort. Overall, the art style is unified and attractive. However, what suffers here are the weapons effects. When I call in an artilery strike, I want to see something powerful erupt. I want to hear the THOOM-THOOM-THOOM of a cannon without actually hearing it. Instead, I was left with a bitter taste after the pew-pew-pew of my cannons tore apart the enemy fortress. I also wouldv'e liked to see more life in the backgrounds, but I also understand that there are limitations to what the dev can and can't do. Still, the visuals were still fairly nice.
Next on my list is the sound which for me was the weakest link. The sound quality simply did not hold up to what I had expected. There was no music at all and the sounds that were present were weak and unimpressive. Again, it's not a big problem since sound was not a major part of the game. Overall, the sound was functional.
Finally, the last points are the interface and controls. The interface was nice and clean. Everything on the menu was where I expected it to be. There was a nice tutorial which made everything on the cards much easier to understand. Accessing the menu was very easy and starting a game was also easy. In-game, the cards tended to make things a little cluttered and reading the cards themselves could also be challenging at times. However, the interface was generally well-done and clean. The controls were simple taps and were very responsive. They were good and allowed the game to be playable.
In conclusion, Strongholds is a great turn-based strategy game that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. The pros far outweigh the cons in the game. At $2.99, the game is a great deal and will provide a lot of replay time.