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They say war never changes, but that hasn't stopped Risky Lab from reworking their nifty little tactics game into an updated “plus” version. For better or for worse, the changes that are present in Warbits Plus are slight and mostly feel like a way to update the look and feel of an aged mobile game that can still offer some fun, tactical action.

Modern warfare

It is clearly intentional that Warbits Plus is named the way that it is. This is no sequel. At it's core it is essentially the same game as the 2016 original. This is not to say there is no new content or updated features, however.

Warbits Plus has been fully rebuilt from the ground up, which allows for the game to display in full screen on newer devices, switch seamlessly between portrait and landscape views, undo boneheaded moves with an undo button, and play cross-platform multiplayer against people on PC or Android. In addition to this, it seems that some levels have also been reworked even though that isn't specifically noted in any of the press materials.

Almost advance

The lineage Warbits Plus is playing off of is still clear as day in this release. Military skirmishes here echo those of Advance Wars, including the same kinds of mechanics for capturing buildings, using special powers, terrain advantages, and more. To be clear: there's nothing inherently wrong with this, especially since Risky Lab comes at this with a level of care that demonstrates their respect for those games while giving a unique identity to their own creation.

That said, this approach feels a little less novel than it did when Warbits first released eight years ago, and it still suffers from a lot of the same issues I bump into when playing games like this. Everything is all fun and dandy until there's some level in the campaign that challenges you to be a tactical wizard or otherwise grind out a war of attrition, and–whether I happen to figure out the swift way to win or not–neither approach ends up feeling all that rewarding.

Kinks in the war machine

Up until I got to some of the late stages inWarbits Plus that put me off a bit, I also seemed to encounter some strange game behavior that I can't tell was purposeful or just a bug. For example, the touted “undo” button in this upgraded version of the game doesn't always seem to appear. I also found that I was unable to use any command powers if there was a unit (even if it was friendly) on my headquarters.

These might sound like small issues, but there were multiple times where I'd run into them and they would effectively kill any chance I had at winning. Maybe these are just design choices, but if they are they feel bad because they are unintuitive, underexplained, and inconsistent. So, as much of this ill will could be coming from my own negative experiences where I'd do something wrong and mess up a mission, it almost always ended up feeling worse because tools that are seemingly available to help bail players out or correct issues seem to just vanish under certain circumstances.

The bottom line

Warbits Plus is a charming little tactics game, and it's worth celebrating as a quality revamp of a beloved mobile title. I don't love the way its difficulty spikes or how some of its systems don't behave how I expect them to, but I can imagine tactics nuts or anyone pining for another Advance Wars seeing a lot to like here. Heck, even I like a lot of it. That just ends at a certain point, though, and it was before I had completed the game.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/review-270100/

Arnold Rauers has been in the business of making clever little mobile games for awhile now, so it's probably no surprise that the release ofGUNCHO garners some attention. This game is a slight departure from the designer's typically card-based approach, though, and–while it can be pretty fun–it lacks some of the elegance and refinement of previous releases.

Step or shoot

GUNCHO is a wild west shootout game that takes place in a turn-based fashion. On a hexagonal grid full of cacti, oil barrels, and plenty of sand, you control a six-shooting desperado as they face off against waves of gunmen, trappers, miners, and more. Your goal is to clear all these waves by moving or shooting one turn at a time, though all it takes is one false decision to wind up biting the dust.

You see, in this game, you are just as fragile as your enemies, meaning any explosion, stray bullet, or brush fire can take you out just as easily as it can your enemies, so you have to be smart with your moves and with your ammo to survive. Another key mechanic to GUNCHO is how its gunplay functions. At the bottom of the screen you can see your revolver cylinder turn whenever you move, which is important because in this game you can only fire bullets if you have ammo in the chamber that points in the direction of what you want to shoot at.

Revolver roguelike

Outside of these systems, GUNCHO is a generally straightforward roguelike. When you clear a level, you get the option to choose an ammo or ability upgrade which allows you to pick from three random cards that give you new powers, like the ability to shoot piercing shots, leap over obstacles, etc. If you die, you can try again from the beginning starting with nothing.

GUNCHO offers three game modes, though all three are very slight variations on the same core game. Normal mode is–presumably–the default mode, which differs from Expert mode by having a more gradual difficulty ramp and the ability to retry levels a limited number of times. Finally, there's a daily challenge that adds three random mutators to the game, all of which are unique to that mode exclusively.

Randomness reload

There are times when GUNCHO feels freshly dynamic and like it's the best new tactical battler you can play with one hand. At others, though, the chain reactions of different enemy and environmental mechanics can feel too chaotic and random, ending runs in ways you couldn't have easily predicted. To account for this,GUNCHO does have its retry system (for at least 2 of 3 modes), but this isn't a very satisfying or elegant solution to this problem.

Of course, you can see if this is how you feel about the game for yourself, as it is free to download and play. If you like it, you can pay $4.99 for the “full unlock” of GUNCHO, which only seems to disable ads.

The bottom line

GUNCHO is by no means a bad game, but it does feel like it's missing something. Previous games from Rauers have a few more wrinkles to them that help make them stand out, whereas this game is just another solid roguelike.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/review-270126/