Galaxy Factions Review

Rooted in its admiration of 3D sci-fi combat, Galaxy Factions entrusts players with a mission to dominate the galaxy via the "invade and conquer" mentality. Savaging space communities which may arise to take what is rightfully their own, players will aim to deploy the right amount of space cadets at the exact point defenses are down while building mining facilities that can further exploit the precious resources of each planet they invade.

Galaxy Factions can be closely compared to Clash of Clans. Using the same overall mechanic, players will aim to protect their equipment and resources by building turret defenses and deploying troops. There are six initial types of troops that can be deployed in this manner: Marine, Blazer, Sniper, Shock Tropper, Engineer, and yes, a Ninja. The ultimate aim is to turn a meagre space station into an all-out fortress as the player aims to find and collect the game's 10 available hero classes and the special abilities which each of them will bring to the battlefield.

Galaxy Factions takes advantage of an isometric camera view, like most strategy-based titles, and starts out by running the player though the basics they'll need in order to survive. After choosing from a Faceroll or Facebook account (with the option to skip to gameplay, if preferred), they will learn how to place mining equipment and select the troops that they wish to deploy. Selecting a specific type of troop is as easy as tapping on them. Holding down will deploy this same type of troop until they run out, while tapping just once will allow them to place troops wherever they see fit.

There's no denying that Galaxy Factions is stunning in terms of its visuals. This is demonstrated by its keen eye for detail, the almost florescent color palette when mining, and the amount of time it takes to load upon first launch. Menus feature that expected "space-esque" look, and the character design is all but flawless. Some of this design is lost to the sheer scale on which Galaxy Factions is set, however there is the ability to zoom-in, which pretty much negates this.

Other than those small points, there's nothing bad I can relay from my time playing Galaxy Factions. The ability to go online and continue the battle with those around the world extends the replay value, while forming new alliances and climbing the global leaderboards keep it ultra-competitive. Galaxy Factions ultimately hits the mark at almost every turn. What I will say is that it did crash a few times on the iPad Mini, but appeared to generally load and function better when testing on an iPhone 5S. It's also worth noting that, although Galaxy Factions is initially free-to-play, some elements may require in-app purchases that can run up to $99.99.

If clan vs. clan titles are one's thing, it might be worth checking out Galaxy Factions. The mix of visuals and strong approach to real-time strategic combat is refreshing, but also pretty challenging.