I think my complaints at how shallow NQ is will possibly be more understandable the deeper you get into this game. Hopefully if Magic Cube makes the sequel they'll expand even more on the strategies. I'd love more varied environments like Super Snake.
Finally beat the 5th snow level. The heavy defensive dude rocks, though really if I change my strategy up all of the characters have the potential to be solid leaders. Onward! Just 5 more levels of Snow then the final world, City. The achievement shall be mine!
I'm definitely curious to see how deep this game goes. NQ is essentially a one trick pony that ultimately disappoint me even though I enjoyed the gameplay.
Progress update: I beat levels 6, 7 & 8 of the Plains of Snow, but level 9 is kicking my rear and I only managed to 2 star those three levels. Every other level in the game I've 3 starred. So being the completionist that I am, I'll have to go back and do better. The only requirement for stars is finishing the level under a certain time. After that a new clock is put up and a star is removed. It's interesting the sheer strategy I'm having to dig into in order to finish some of the higher levels. It's not just about running fast ... rather how you attack enemies (head on, from the sides or back) that makes a huge difference in surviving. Also later in the game the enemies that heal appear a lot more, so it's almost a key to try and kill them since they'll heal anyone within a pretty large area that is attacked thus making it harder to clear areas if you don't first clear the medics (healers). There's more to it than that, but it just amazes me how deep I am into this and yet how much I have to hone my strategy in order to progress fast enough to get the 3 star award. How far are you into Campaign mode?
The depth for this game is slightly above nimble quest's. After playing it until the second world, the characters generally play a lot differently. Whereas there's really only two types of characters in nimble quests, a melee and a ranged, call of snakes tosses in a mid ranged, melee, long ranged, speed unit, tank/short range, and healer. Each of these plays differently than the other. Some are more reliant on the line that you get, like the healer. One other key aspect that is different in CoS is that your line acts as a barrier to enemies that move. The enemy will not destroy your line when they run into it. Additionally, if one member of your line is destroyed, that leaves the remaining line members behind until you go pick them back up. In terms of the negatives for this game, I felt that the game is sometimes less responsive. There were times where I flicked the screen to turn but the units didn't turn. The game also has no leveling system. The six units you start with appear to be the same units you will progress with throughout all the stages. There's no progression in these units from what I saw. No way to enhance them. There's appealing aspects to both games, but at the same time they also have their own negatives. I rather like to see my characters change over time. This gives me more of a sense of progression than going through different areas. However at the same time, NQ's characters feel very generic. All the melees have essentially the same range, their DPS are also similar, and overall their play style ends up being the same. (Yes, I'm ignoring the lance guy) The ranged units, while they fall into two sub categories, I'll label them the useful and the useless (since they rarely hit their targets), also feel very similar.
To me that's a plus rather than a minus. If I play online multiplayer then it's a pure skill to skill competition. No one is just going to take over because they have spent a ton of money and managed to get all of their characters to level 3 and thus dominate like what happens in the NQ Guilds (which isn't multiplayer but it's all NQ has for competitive play). The lack of grinding in this game is fantastic. It's all about the strategy. Still, I agree with most of what you said. If I had one complaint it would be the variety of the environments to play in. It's the same issue I had with NQ... they can change a graphic but it's still the same basic shaped space to battle in. Also wait till you get to the 4th world... my strategies have changed so much in the last few games that I'm seeing some characters as a lot more useful than previously. Some of this is due to the different speeds each character moves at, some of this is due to that initial weapon and if I want to just go mega aggressive or lean more to the side of a stealth attack. Plus the rate the enemies spawn affects that too. One of the cool things in this game though is that from game to game it's pretty random which supporting characters pop up. One game you may have 3 healers then the next have none. Who you get sort of morphs on the fly what strategy will work best to dominate. I've had games with no healers but a few short range shot gun wielders and it's allowed me to just dominate the field so quick that I didn't miss having that healer. Blocking the enemy snakes that appear, is kind of cool as well... though that partially depends on who your leader is since a slow leader versus the enemy having a fast leader can backfire really quick trying to corner the enemy.
Although, if it's the 1% of players who happen to be best at this kind of game that dominate, is that really any better or different than it being the 1% who spent the most money?
^Because I believe games should reward skill and provide a feeling of deserved accomplishment. Ps Downloaded the game and played for a little bit. So far I really like what I'm seeing. Much more interesting and dynamic gameplay than nimble quest. Will keep posting as I progress.
How do you heal your main guy? Also is there strategy to the order of guys that you pick up? I'm really liking the sniper class because it's so different. I agree that all the classes are unique and makes for some diverse gameplay. Also the game is more about thinking on-the-fly as you have to deal with different situations as they pop up randomly.
During battle you need to collect a healer, after battle just use a different character and within a game or two they should auto heal. There is a currency system that awards money after certain levels and you can pay for an instant heal, but I've never done that and am sitting on 27 dollars since within 6 minutes even a defeated soldier will be fully restored. As for order, I'd want healers in the back, short range and more hellfire fighters in the front and long range in the middle. But it all comes down to play style what may work best for you. In later levels the troops appear quickly so picking an order is easier.
You're obviously kidding, right? Actual skill versus paying more money? If I have to choose between being beaten by someone who is actually better than me versus someone who paid more money than I did? Uhm, yeah, I'll take not being as good as someone else over merely being poorer or less frivolous... DBC
Why/? Is it just something you can't explain? Say that one person has some form of palsy, and can't play very well because their hands twitch. Another person can't play well because of poor eyesight. Another person can't or doesn't want to buy the IAP. What's the difference, really? I'm assuming it wouldn't bother you if someone with poor eyesight buys glasses, that help them play better. But it bothers you if someone buys access to better units?
First, wanna say that I like Nimble Quest, but have enjoyed this game since it came out. Glad that it's getting more attention....thanks to Nimblebit.
The currency in this game is perfectly fine and the timers are good actually. I don't mind being punished a little bit for dying and like a previous poster said, by the time you play another game he's already revived anyway. I do wish you could spend your currency on something else though. Maybe some sort of cosmetic changes.
Just to play along with the conversation. Paying money to be better is simply cheating. That's the end of the story. Look at any other sport or game. If you could pay money to have better units in chess it would be a garbage game. There's your explanation. #
I think it's a difference of gamesmanship versus sportsmanship. Paying to get ahead in a game to me is no different than a sports team using drugs to enhance their players to be better than their opponents or employing dirty tricks to injure the other team so they can't compete. The fact that game makers these days cling on so much to the IAP currency is what makes it easy for me to distinguish between a well made game and something made with the sole purpose of addicting the gamer into a never ending quest so they'll cave in and part with as much money as it takes to get ahead of the others playing. ... Update on CoS... I'm now at the last area City in the first level (level 41). So I'm getting close to the end. Nicely level 10 of the Plains of Snow changed things up pretty significantly. I won't spoil it... and it's not that huge a change but I was surprised. That achievement is getting closer... I will finish this and I will 3 star every level.
Sounds cool. I'm still on the first world looking forward to getting further. Already the game is pretty challenging in a good way.
I would like to see a high-rise version for iPad. Also that would be nice if there was a meter that showed when you are ready to fire next. Sometimes with the sniper it's hard to tell when she's ready to shoot. Not really a big deal though because you can get a feel for it after a while.
