A Quick Look at 'Strategery' for the iPhone
posted by Blake Patterson on December 28th, 2008 10:03 PM EST in $0.99, Reviews, Strategy, iPhone games, iPod touch games
iDrinkApp.com has recently released turn-based strategey game Strategery [App Store] for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Strategery is a fast-paced game of world domination, designed and built from top to bottom for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Play against the computer or up to four friends in an epic battle of strategy and risk.
Strategery is a cleanly implemented, simplistic iPhone take on Risk, Defender of the Crown, and the like. It's a turn based strategy game of map domination that's well suited for brief sessions of gaming on the go. The gameplay closely resembles Dice Wars.
Featured as listed by the developer:
- Challenging game of offensive and defensive strategy
- Play for a couple minutes or a couple hours (it's pretty addictive)
- Four difficulty settings, ranging from "Easy" (for the strategically impaired) to "Brutal" (risk being humiliated)
- Pass-and-play multiplayer (up to 5 players)
- Automatically saves your game to resume later
- Randomly generated maps (choose small, medium, or large) make every game a unique challenge
The playfield consists of a futuristic area map with regions sectioned off by color. You're blue. Each "country" contains one to seven colored hexagons (or circles, in the case of the (blue) player). These are armies. Click an area to select it and then click a bordering, enemy area to attack. In so doing, a roll of the dice takes place and each army of the player's area and the target area is replaced with a die face. The highest cumulative count wins–and obviously the area with the larger number of armies is more likely to win. At the end of each turn, additional armies are added to the various countries based upon the largest unbroken cluster of countries of a given color.
Strategery provides a solid challenge to fans of the genre–it's no cakewalk, but then it's not impossible either. iDrinkApp.com is currently offering the game at a limited time introductory price of $0.99, which turn-based strategy fans will find to be a solid value.
Have a look at our gameplay video to get a feel for the game.
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
App Store Link: Strategery, $0.99
Looks pretty good. But this is turn-based strategy, not RTS (real-time strategy). Warcraft is RTS. Risk and Defender of the Crown are both turn-based.
Came to say exactly that – this isn't an RTS.
On another note, no online mode = not interested. Come on devs, let me play with my friends (who are not in the same room with me)
This is currently my favorite strategy game on the iPhone. Really hoping for an online mode in the future.
RTS/turn-based corrected.
Sounds exactly like Dice Wars: http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/dice/dice.html
I've spent many hours on it, and I'm afraid of how much time I would sink in the iPhone version… Very dangerous!
I have to say I'd be more interested were this online. Otherwise, make it free please. Looks fun but too simple, even for a buck.
This is frustrating. If people can't spend a buck for a quality, fun game like this one that provides hours of enjoyment, then how the hell are developers ever going to be motivated to add features like on-line play?
It's not too simple. Please give it a try.
agreed. asking for it to be free is unhelpful. It's a solid game, and wasn't free to make.
Looks compelling. Anyone that pulled the trigger on this mind giving detailed impressions?
there's a discussion thread in our forums about the game
http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?threadid=1998
Leadfoot5: Indeed. A sound point.
No, this game should be free. I bought it and that's how I feel. It is just a bunch of randomness. There is only a marginal amount of strategy involved in the game. You can't move "dots" or choose where to place them. Sure you could argue that this means you need to plan a strategy around the limitations, but these limitations are stupid. They make the person playing the game a tiny factor and the randomness the key player. The game practically plays itself. It is lazy programming.
Really people, stop complaining about the price. It's a buck, and IMHO, well worth it. This game is more entertaining than alot of the more expensive apps I've purchased. Do you work for free? Im guessing not, so why is it fair for you to expect the game devs to work for free. If you like Risk-type games, you should definately give this game a look. I too would like to see an online multiplayer mode and possibly a "fortify" option to move your armies around.
Again, DS and PSP users aren't seeing games for $0.99. And I like this game.
So what? Who's saying PSP and DS owners agree with the prices they have to pay for games, to begin with?
again… why are you people complaining about a game that costs a dollar? you should not be an iphone or ipod touch owner if you're whining about an amount that you would normally not even notice spending daily.
honestly, instead of criticizing the developer/programmer about a game, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ONE YOURSELF. ffs.
@some nerdy dork— Because we can't make games, we are consumers. duh.
@Blake Patterson & jecebn— It isn't that games aren't worth paying more than a buck for. It is that *this* game isn't worth a buck. I've had plenty of time to play it now and I've deleted it. The game sucks and is absolutely nothing like Risk. Calling this Risk-like is the same as calling tic-tac-toe chess-like. This game is simple and random to a degree that leaves me feeling the developer is either very young or very lazy.