Wow, out in time for the holiday weekend. Glad to see so many positive comments so far. Will pick it up once back in wifi.
Not really a reason to not play all your cards each turn because there is nothing to lose if you have left over cards. About banishing, I would assume that if you are employing a serious strategy, you might want to get rid of cards that don't fit into it so that the chances of the cards you are relying on coming out will increase.
Question: if I have never been able to really get into this kind of game before, is there anything in this one that might change my mind? (For reference: both Orions 2 and Shadow Era did nothing for me.)
Ok, both SE and O2 are pure card games, Ascension has some board game influence, too. It is a product of high quality and polish. It's very strategic... but if you can get into it, I don't know. Did you like Carcassonne? But Ascension still is a battle based card game. I would tend more to the "no" side in your case, but can be completely wrong, too. Can't recommend it without doubt to you. Even if this game is really good.
Carcassone I didn't mind, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan. It's just, games like this one always catch my eye due to the artwork but the gameplay tends to leave me cold. Perhaps I'll just wishlist this one and either take a chance on a sale or wait till there's a lite. Thanks.
ok, i never played this game but bought it. so far looks and plays nicely. i would not compare it with carcassonne in therms of polishing, there are some flaws with ui and options. for example more stats would make the game better. option to zoom in the cards played by enemies with tap as confirmation would be also good for someone who has not played this game before. ability to replace avatar and rename players. i also don't really like artworks, but that is the matter of taste. this game also does not support multitasking, that's strange. however overall this is very interesting and fun board game.
I've only played for a few hours (and have no previous experience with the physical game) but it appears to me that Ascension is more tactical than strategic; that is: due to the shuffling of the cards one can't plan ahead too much (strategy) but rather must make hay while the sun shines (tactics). Or am I missing something?
What this game does differently is to have players building their "deck" or draw pile during the game, instead of deck-building beforehand. The board game it's based on takes its cues from the board game Dominion, if you've ever played that. Even so, to your query, my best guess would be no. It does share many qualities with the games you mentioned. I do however know people that do not like CCGs, but do like Dominion. If and when an iPad version of that game is produced, it will be wildly succesful. FWIW, I like this game, but I also like Orions 2 and Shadow Era a great deal.
Long time lurker - just registered to give my $0.02. The game is utterly fantastic. It's everything I've wanted in an iPad turn-based card game. Polished, GREAT tutorial, plays just like the real-world game, no game ever the same - it's just excellent. Definitely worth the money!!!
Haha, sorry that! That's where my problems of not being a native english speaker kick in. Of course I've meant tactical gameplay, sorry if I confused someone. Sometimes I've using the wrong word for something, happens once in a while.
I think it's safe to say your english is a lot better than some of the native speakers I know! My only problem is the lack of multitasking support, was playing tutorial and accidentally pressed home button and boom. Strange omission from what feels like a brilliant, slick game! Really looking forward to spending more time with it.
Overall first impressions are quite good but I think this one will play better on an iPad as the text is a bit small on my 3GS, but it's not a major issue. You also get a card gallery, although again the text is a bit on the small side and the flavour text cannot be read at all, which is a shame. I wish there was an option to display cards full screen as this would make them almost actual size. According to the gallery, there are 53 cards: 5 Common, 10 Enlightened, 9 Lifebound, 10 Mechana, 9 Void and 10 Monsters. I wasn't sure about the artwork at first, but it is growing on me. The tutorial is fairly lengthy and very useful; it's not a video but a step-by-step play through that will get you up and running in no time. In addition, there is also a eight-screen rulebook. Options are: music on/off, sound effects on/off, cultist screams (!) on/off, game speed slow/normal/fast and animation speed slow/normal/fast. There are six game slots for offline play. For online play, you get a choice of 12 avatars. I LOVE the music! it is suitably dramatic and is just great. I don't know if it is a piece of original music, but it's brilliant nonetheless. I only got this game about an hour ago and only had a chance to play through the tutorial so far, but I'll post more thoughts later. Here are some screen shots:
I've never been able to really get a grasp on these types of games, but they always intrigue me. Orions was fine, but I really don't like the land developing part, so that's only something I play occasionally. Since this is based off of a well regarded board game, I decided to give it a shot. Wow. I love it. I played the tutorial once, and felt like I had the basics enough to jump right in. I've played two games plus the tutorial, and have really enjoyed my time with it. The only glaring omission is lack of multitasking. This needs to change. Otherwise, I recommend it highly.
Double-tap a card to view it in detail. I bet multitasking will be in the next update for sure. That's extremely usefull especially with async multiplayer and you don't wanna start the app each time anew. Slumbering in background like Carcassonne is able to and quickly change to the board from homescreen is a must-feature.
