What We Liked..
Historical accuracy and attention to detail
Beautiful graphics
Intuitive interface
Free-to-play model
.. and what we didn't
Slow pace of gameplay
Underdeveloped PvP
Genre: strategy, war, managerial, simulation
Setting: city, historical, present
Graphics: animated artworks
PvP: PvE
Rise of Cultures is a strategy game for browsers and mobile devices developed by InnoGames. The game takes players on a journey through different eras of human history, starting from the Stone Age and ending in the Middle Ages. Players must build and manage their cities, research new technologies, and engage in battles with other players.
One of the key features of Rise of Cultures is its emphasis on historical accuracy. The game provides players with a detailed representation of the cultures and societies of each era, including their architecture, technology, and military tactics. This attention to detail makes the game both educational and immersive.
In terms of gameplay, Rise of Cultures offers a variety of activities to engage in: you can build and upgrade buildings, gather resources, and train troops, both solo or with your fellow guild companions.
One of the biggest strengths of Rise of Cultures lies in its graphics. The artworks are stylish, beautiful and detailed, and they really bring the historical eras to life. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, making it extremely accessible to both new and experienced players.
Rise of Cultures also features a well-balanced free-to-play model. While it does offer in-app purchases, you can enjoy the full experience without spending any money, for real. This makes it a great option for players who are looking for a high-quality game without breaking the bank.
However, there are also some downsides...
Some players may find the pace of the game to be slow, as it can take time to gather resources and build up a strong city. Also, the multiplayer component is quite underdeveloped as the main emphasis of the game is on PvE: while somebody could consider it as an advantage, those looking for a hard challenge against other human players are going to be disappointed.
Overall, Rise of Cultures is a solid strategy game that offers a lot of worthy content. Its historical accuracy and attention to detail make it stand out from other games in the genre, and its free-to-play model makes it accessible to a wide range of players.
What We Liked..
Fantastic class skill system
Free to play with no content paywall
Decent graphics and optimization
.. and what we didn't
Few server locations
Relies of unfavorable gear progression system
Guardians of Ember is a fantasy isometric action MMORPG that features six MMO classes and four races to play as. For a free to play game, the PvE and PvP content on offer is decent. The game's best feature is its class combat mechanics, that lets players change skills depending on what weapon is equipped in addition to an in-depth skill tree system that encourages multiple builds. This keeps gameplay refreshing until the late game. While animations are good, other artistic assets are mediocre at best. What holds it back is its decision to rely on conventional progression systems like gear enchanting instead of shaking things up. Ultimately, Guardians of Ember is still a fun game to play especially when in groups for dungeons.
What We Liked..
Strategy and ARPG layers that work
Tons of systems and progression
Big community
.. and what we didn't
Expensive cash shop
Eternal Fury is a free to play browser-based strategy game with a twist. While raising your kingdoms, armies and alliances are all key gameplay features, you'll also need to upgrade your singular hero ruler, with RPG-like gameplay system in place that offers a good time.
Battles are fought on both maps - the kingdom world view and in arena-style battles that shakes up the usual boring and monotonous gameplay. While free to play, Eternal Fury's cash shop is a mixed bag and borderline hovers over what's fair.
What We Liked..
Customizing your mechs is lots of fun Fast-paced PvP battles Fast growing community Lots of tournaments and events
.. and what we didn't
Not pretentious graphics
Mech Arena is a fast-paced PvP mech shooter with competitive mayhem for everyone.
Choose from dozens of Weapons and Mechs with special abilities for endless combinations. Fight with friends or compete in a global arena of players, maps, and modes.
Take on the world in the most explosive, fun, and chaotic sport the future has to offer — Mech Arena.
What We Liked..
Tactical team-based fun
Great graphics and sound
Good amount of freelancers
Easy to learn
.. and what we didn't
Must pay to unlock all freelancers
No built-in voice chat
Atlas Reactor by Trion Worlds is a refreshing turn-based tactical team PVP game that pits two teams of four players against each other. The game's unique gameplay is its selling point, proving that MOBA isn't the only option when it comes to competitive group play.
The game boasts well designed and balanced heroes called Freelancers, and their ability to influence games is largely down to the skill of the player, the strategy of the team and how well they communicate as a group, rather than the strength of the Freelancer.
Overall, Atlas Reactor is a very fun game to play and offers hours of strategic fun for both hardcore and casuals. The game is easy to learn but hard to master, and considering that it's free to play, it will keep gamers coming back for a long time to come.
What We Liked..
Minimal system requirements
Large weapon pool
Plenty of game modes
Community
.. and what we didn't
Dated graphics
Occasional hacking
Weapon balance
Combat Arms is a first person tactical shooter game that has been around for quite some time, and features a solid core FPS gameplay that is on par with genre favorites Counterstrike and Crossfire. The game stands out by giving players a huge amount of in-game weapons to embrace, and as a result it has created a unique culture of weapon progression unlike any other game has done.
Combat Arms also has highly customizable systems which includes outfitting and up-gradable weapon parts, giving players even more reasons to keep playing regularly to gain experience and ranks. While there are downsides such as dated graphics and occasional hacking, the game still offers plenty of content and fun for FPS aficionados. Overall, Combat Arms is great shooter game that will be around for a long time to come.
What We Liked..
Very innovative
Unique and rewarding quest progression
Game of Thrones!
.. and what we didn't
The technical qualities
Still a pretty standard pay-to-play type of game
Setting: fantasy, historical
Graphics: plain text and images
PvP: all vs all guild or factions PvE PvP
Game of Thrones: Ascent is a new browser game developed and published by Disruptor Beam. The game chronicles your “ascent” to the throne of one of the eight royal houses of Westeros.
Ascent is a very story driven game, much like the original series. Unfortunately, where the game differs the most from the TV show is in the action. This isn't to say that fans of the show will not enjoy the game; fanboys and girls who feel the need to engage themselves in more GoT lore may find Ascent to be the perfect way to get their fix in between episodes.
Standard RPG fans may also take interest in the unconventional take on the combat system (if you could even call it that). The game also has the typical western RPG conversation based cutscenes, allowing you to align your character towards good, evil or somewhere in between.
Game of Thrones: Ascent has many attractions to many different types of gamers. Quintessential RPG gamers will appreciate a new take on the traditional combat system and more story driven gamers will love this game. Ascent even offers something for RTS gamers! There's plenty of resource gathering and “base-building” to be found in the game. And of course, GoT fans will find themselves right at home with the storyline.
Ascent is a game that reaches for the stars and all in all, it's a great use of the Game of Thrones license.
What We Liked..
Addictive gameplay
Colossal battles
Excellent graphics
.. and what we didn't
Not much of a story
Rather exorbitant hardware requirements
In the shoes of a member of one of three factions on the planet Auraxis, your mission is simply to conquer as much territory as possible and bring your team one step closer to total domination. The game places a strong emphasis on teamwork, with tactics designed to encourage furious suicide charges in the middle of battle.
The game is essentially devoid of a strong narrative component and prefers to rely entirely on the gameplay, which is fine because the latter is incredibly enjoyable, challenging and well designed.
Graphically, the game is beautiful, staging its battles in the most diverse, well-realised environments. Constant updates bring more content and welcome variations to an already excellent game.
Overall, PlanetSide 2 is the game fans of the first episode have been waiting for, and more.
What We Liked..
Great player-versus-player map
Simple to play
Fun for casual gamers
.. and what we didn't
Combat is too simple
In-game purchases needed for higher levels
Raven March is an MMO strategy game from Kabam Games. Although the game gets off to a slow start, partly due to excessive load screens and a sparse story, it gains in the multiplayer portion thanks to a well developed player-versus-player map, where new combat is always to be had. Scenarios are also available for those who prefer to play solo.
The game has quaint but fairly detailed 2D graphics that serve it well. In terms of story, however, there's not much to say - you have a small selection of avatars and three factions at war to fight as. Exactly why they’re at war in the first place will unfortunately remain a mystery.
In general, Raven March offers fun for casual players, but hardcore gamers will likely have to pay if they want to continue to advance at a reasonable pace.
What We Liked..
Realistic strategic warfare
Long-term game
Rewarding social aspects
.. and what we didn't
Unattractive graphics
Very slow progression
No sounds and music
Setting: city, fantasy, historical
Graphics: animated artworks
PvP: all vs all guild or factions PvP
Thirty Kingdoms by Bytro Labs is a free to play empire building strategy game for web browsers. As the ruler of your kingdom, the gameplay will have you look after your provinces by managing your resources, building new structures from well fleshed out tech trees, and players will need to expand by taking over hostile territories. To do that, players can build up an army of various units and send them away in real time to do battle, and the outcome is decided by multiple realistic factors such as army morale and terrain.
The most interesting thing about Thirty Kingdoms is its level of realism, and actions such as moving armies and building structures will take a long time to complete. Game progression will be slow which means that not everyone will enjoy it. However, the game does provide multiple socializing options that allows for diplomatic and cunning styles of play.
Thirty Kingdoms is a good immersive kingdom building game that offers hours of fun that lasts for prolonged periods of time. While the graphics are minimal and there are no in-game sounds, players who enjoy strategy games without the hassle of additional downloads or slow internet will definitely find something to like in Thirty Kingdoms.