Yeah, I think this is a bit of an oversight on our end... We'll definitely have a look at making it more clear you're actually in overwatch (or rather, make it clear you're NOT in overwatch) in an update.
It's a shame you don't intend to release a lite version. I'm no expert, but I suspect it would help generate sales. £3 is on the high side to fork out without trying the game out first. I've been stung too many times in the past.
We've found most people get used to the camera after a while, but, definitely; It's a bit of a chore on the smaller devices. Doors glow (red for locked, green for open) to make them easier to spot. There is a small X on the left hand side of the screen, just above the other buttons. But in hindsight, we've had several people say this lately so we'll be looking at making it more obvious. (The thinking here was, it's not really something you would use a lot, so we'd rather "hide it away" as much as possible...) Hopefully you'll find this gets less and less of an issue in later levels where there's more zombies.
Sure, I can wait. Though, with a lite version released at launch, I can test to make sure this works properly on an ipad2.
So far so good. I'm typing this from my phone so it won't be a long review but I'm very impressed so far. Playing on my ipad is very easy, zooming in changing the camera angle so on is very responsive. Effects and visuals are good, I've encountered a few different types of zombies each require a different approach to kill. Over watch works well. My only gripe...you miss your target a lot. At least in my opinion. When shooting at zombies I don't like seeing the dodge text above their head when I attack them. We're not taking ninja zombies here...we got slow walkers. I've also missed zombies in the space next to me with a shot gun. I understand as the guys level they get better but I still haven't seen an improvement. I've also had zombies dodge grenade attacks but those minor complaints side, it a great game.
Love the game so far. Polished gameplay, good camera. Just in Level 2 if you can say so (just met Sarge ;-) too early for an extended review... Story delivers so far, like this fact much better than Hunters, which really lacks story. Only thing which needs to be fixed: the artworks and the text in these. Playing on iPad (1) these look horrible. The pictures look horribly scaled, no interpolation at all, so does the text. In which resolution are the artworks done? Please scale them properly, or even better, embed them in native resolution, please! The text looks like scanned. Please fix this, so everyone can enjoy the cutscenes even more. Thanks to the developers. Good work. P.S.: And please, the evil Dr. Leipzig!? Where are u guys from?
Thanks for the criticism and the positive words. In general we are super happy that everyone seems to enjoy themselves. Thats one of the main reasons to even make games - to entertain you guys! It will all make sense in the end if you follow the story ;-) Simply cant spoil it for anyone, but we do have a story bible and an underlying plot that will make more and more sense over this campaign and the next campaign(s) /Thomas
Game Impressions (NB: I did receive a promo code to review this, but I'm trying to be as objective as possible. Also, this is a review based on the IPad version.) I'll start off by saying I'm a huge fan of turn-based tactical strategy games - in a perfect world, I'd sit and play "Tactical tactics: a tactical romp through Tacticastan" all day long, so I was already giddy when I saw the title of this game. Overall I've been quite impressed so far. I am only six missions deep into the game, and I'm itching for my lunch break to come so that I can get back into the campaign. The gameplay will be immediately familiar to anyone who's picked up a TBS/SRPG before; TS:UR uses an action point system very similar to the original Fallout games, as well as an "overwatch" system that is similar to the one used in Hunters: Episode One. There are several game design choices that the dev team made that make for some interesting strategic decisions, the biggest two being the inclusion of firing arcs and friendly fire. Do you sweep Jack in with the shotgun to mass attack a 45 degree arc's worth of enemies? It sounds like a good idea until you realize that Franklin's machine gun firing arc might intersect with Jack causing dangerous amounts of friendly fire... and woe be to the team that forms a circle around a horde of zombies - I've heard killing your teammates with friendly fire is a big no-no . I'm actually a bit surprised to see these "negative" features adding to the fun of planning out my turns. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that there are multiple enemy types to fight against, as well as boss fights - the game's first two levels lead me to believe that I would only be facing off versus the vanilla "skinny" zombies. Graphically, SRPG/TBS games are traditionally one of the ugliest genres in modern gaming, but TS:UR is surprisingly pretty for a tactics game. Don't get me wrong -- this is no Infinity Blade, but the character models and levels are fully rotatable and zoomable in 3D, bloody streaks stay on walls and floors, and the UI is crisp and clean; though I must admit the facial textures within the games menus look a bit... off. Still, this game is light years in front of the graphics in Hunters and Battle for Wesnoth. While the story may be nothing to write home about, the comic style cutscenes are fun (if a bit unremarkable), but both do a decent job of moving the campaign forward and scripting out interesting missions with a little bit of variety to them. The music pulls its weight by being immersive without getting annoying, although i do find some of the UI sound effects to feel a little out of place, but i suppose that's a matter of personal taste more than anything. My one concern is that much like Rimelands, I'm not sure how much replay value the game will have once the 7 hour campaign is done; to an extent this is a moot point as this is an iOS game - there is a trade-off on price point versus length I guess the best way to summarize and provide a tl;dr is that even if I had not been given a promo code to review this game, I would still be very[/] happy to have spent $4.99 on this game and felt like I got my money's worth to the last cent. I'll be interested to see if there's more support or a follow-up in the future. I'd give this a solid 8/10, closer to a 9/10 if you are a big TBS fan.
I think we're all a bit cynical about positive reviews coming from brand-new members -- they have the whiff of shilling. This one pretty much nails it, though, so I don't care if he's best buds with the developer . Let me add one thing. Whenever a new zombie game is announced you always here from someone how sick they are of zombie games. The fact is, though, that there are very few real zombie games on any platform. What passes as a zombie game is most often just a shooter with particularly dumb and bloody targets. Such games usually show little understanding of the sense of dread at the core of the zombie subgenre. I think this is why the Dead Island cinematic trailer was so well received -- it's one of the first zombie games that "gets it." There's a scene at the end of the original Dawn of the Dead when a biker gang breaks into the heroes' mall compound, letting a whole legion of zombies into building. At first it's like a party: the bikers are well armed and they mow down the stenches like it's nothing. After a while, however, it becomes clear to them that by their sheer number the zombies have become an unstoppable force -- what I call the "oh sh*t" moment. I just had a similar moment while playing Tactical Soldier: Undead Rising. After mowing down three waves of zombies while taking my sweet time to get to the mission objective, I suddenly realized that I'd gotten myself into some serious trouble. For me, that makes it one of the few (maybe the only) true zombie games on the platform. Let me put it another way: between this and FF3, I've barely touched my new 3DS .
Can't say I blame you for the cynicism - I've lurked this forum for quite some time and I've seen the sort of shenanigans that get pulled (personal favorite: "What's your favorite game? Mine is the one I made!") In this case, it was more about "oh neat, I'd love to play this game" combined with "oh crap, I have no monies" that lead me to end up getting a promo code. I did make a note at the beginning and end of the piece that did let folks know that I was given one though - I'm not trying to play it unethically, and I did try to be objective though. Honestly, except for the story, comic quality, and sounds I do legitimately enjoy this game and don't have any ties to the developer (aside from the forementioned promo code). I'll try to weigh in on other games by different developers that catch my eye.
Sorry -- I wasn't actually accusing you of being a shill, just describing a mindset that is common around TA. Oh, and welcome to the forums!
I'm really enjoying this, as mentioned above it nails the whole zombie genre on the head. Your heavily armed, they are slow so its all so eas....wait...what....zombies coming from every direction. DEAD. So not only a competant tactics game but a bit of survival horror too. With this, Hunters and GLWG I'm in 7th heaven these past weeks.
Is it just me, or is there no manual reload? It's really annoying to be walking around with only one bullet left, then facing a zombie, shooting it and wasting 1 AP for the inevitable reload that follows.
Just part of the strategy I guess. Quite a good game actually. My only complaint so far is the camera. Takes a lot of getting used to, plus there always seems to be an object in the way, and even though they go transparent it's a little annoying.
I've finally given the game the attention that it deserves to be able to give it a full review. I've been playing for a while now, I've beaten the first boss and reached different zombie types, trust me when I say that the other zombies need tactics to destroy without losing a large chunk of life for one or more of your allies! I have been playing on my iPad, and while the controls take a little bit to get used to, they work great for zooming and recentering your view to be able to see exactly what needs to be seen. I can see how the controls could be slightly more difficult on a smaller device, but totally manageable. The blood splatter effects are great. The whole storyline is a bit cheesy, but it serves to connect all of the levels quite nicely. The characters are all fun tho slightly stereotyped. The actual tactics part of the game has been executed quite nicely, and upgrade system seems to make the game more customizable. I have a question though, it seems you can only put one point into a given upgrade per character. Was that intentional, or is it so you can reallocate the point? Also the bonus equipment is a nice touch, allowing for more customizable characters! Overall this game is a excellent addition to any tactics fan IOS library. Like squarezero said tho, it's no X-Com: UFO Defense; but it's not trying to be. It's totally worth the 5 bucks, for the amount of gaming goodness contained within.
Again I cant stop being happy that you like the game and all the hours of work we poured into this. It has been a huge risk over a year ago to start down this path - a genre themes niche game. So very very happy that it entertains you. Thanks for playing!! Yes - this was fully intentional. You can only allocate 1 skill point to a given skill for each level progression. You can then allocate another one to the same skill next level again though! We decided to do so, as it could otherwise tilt the balance too much by simply pouring all your skill points into a single "über skilled soldier" vs. spreading out the points. You can also decide to save your skill points for next time. You do not have to use them all at the same time. At the price of making the game harder for you in the upcoming battle. Yet another tactical twist ;-) /Thomas
