Tag: Collectible card game »

Mobage has developed a bit of a “thing” for freemium collectible card games lately. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just that there are a lot of them floating around now and it can be difficult to figure out which ones to stick with. Of course everyone already knows how I feel about Rage of Bahamut, but while it will always be my number one I feel confident in stating that Fantasica sits right next to it as number two.

Card collecting and enhancement is still the primary focus with this new Mobage title, but the formula has also been significantly tweaked in places. After the basics are covered in the tutorial players are given clearance to do whatever they wish, be it questing, training, fighting, and so on. Questing in Fantasica is like a simplistic game of tower defense: Enemies pour in and must be dispatched before they reach the exit, which requires placing characters along the path and putting their abilities to good use. Training is more of a simple lottery-style mini-game that has the player’s chosen leader character walking down a straight path, killing enemies to earn experience and finding treasure chests with cash or new characters along the way.

Unlike many other freemium games of this type, all actions aren’t tied to specific meters that refill over time. Instead, everything other than Training is tied to countdown clocks. Completing a quest of any sort initiates a cooldown phase, ranging from one minute to an hour or more, that can either be waited out or instantly refreshed with special items. I still haven’t decided how I feel about this method, but it seems to work pretty well all things considered. I’ve yet to get to a point where I’ve run out of things to do. It’s easy for me to get hung up on all the little elements that make Fantasica feel like more of a game than a browser-based affair, but I want to make sure I give the artwork and character designs their due. In short, they’re spectacular. And with good reason; it’s all been penned by Hideo Minaba. Yes, that Hideo Minaba.

As impressed as I’ve been with Fantasica I’ve still had a few issues with it. Mostly it’s that the menu interface is a bit busy which makes navigation a pain. I’m also not a fan of the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen since it forces me to actively search for my ally list, among other things. There are also certain concepts such as how defending against attackers works that aren’t communicated clearly at all.

I have to admit, despite the perplexing UI, Fantasica is a solid free-to-play. One with actual gameplay in it, no less. It’s too soon to tell whether it will surpass Mobage’s main juggernaut, but it’s certainly poised to make an attempt.

Just about everyone in the world dreams about having super powers. Flight, strength, x-ray vision, that kind of stuff. While DeNA (think Mobage) and Marvel Entertainment’s upcoming Marvel: War of Heroes may not bestow impossible abilities to its players, it does put them in charge of a slew of iconic heroes.

Assuming the role of a S.H.I.E.L.D agent players will collect cards featuring various Marvel heroes and craft their own super team. Powers and abilities can be fused and upgraded as well, making an already powerful legend even more so. If you’re thinking it sounds similar to the more than a little popular Rage of Bahamut, that’s because it is. And because it’s being crafted by the same developers. Although the story – which is a thing that actually exists in this freemium card game. I know, right? – is all original and comes directly from Marvel itself. As does the art, actually, which is ridiculously awesome.

Marvel: War of Heroes is due to hit the App Store this fall. Anyone with even the slightest interest will be able to check it out for free, but those of us who are already curious can head over to the official website to pre-register. Why? Because it earns a free rare card, among other things. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from playing similar Mobage titles it’s that rare cards, no matter how useful they might be to my strategy, can pay off big. Also it might actually be really cool.

Back when I first reviewed Rage of Bahamut, I knew that I really liked it. I just had no idea how many other people would be every bit as enamored with it. Turns out a whole lot of people think it’s awesome, because the free-to-play CCG with the ingenious approach to duplicates has hit Number One. Number One on Google Play and the App Store grossing charts.

It’s a well-deserved honor as far as I’m concerned. The browser-based card game gone portable for mobile platforms offers a wealth of cards to gather (700+) and almost constant special events to keep the community engrossed and involved. Holy Wars have just wrapped up (my Order ranked in the mid-3000’s, which isn’t too bad), leaving lots of players with a bounty of rare cards. And of course, those that aren’t rare can be used to upgrade those that are.

Reaching the top spot in the App Store as well as keeping said spot for six consecutive weeks on Google Play is no simple feat. It implies that a lot of people are playing. And if that many people are having such a grand old time collecting, trading, and evolving some gorgeous (and powerful) cards on their mobile devices, it stands to reason that it just might be a game worth checking out. And if someone were to check it out, I wouldn’t take offense if they were to use my referral code (lhs90348) at the end of the tutorial to get some extra cash and a special rare card. Just a thought.

It feels like it wasn’t all that long ago when Samurai Bloodshow (the rest of the title is too confusing so I’m leaving it off) managed to take me completely by surprise. The combination of strategy, card collecting, and over-the-top arterial spray brought a huge smile to my face. And now Sega is poised to do the same thing to me all over again. Albeit without the surprise since I know what’s coming this time around.

Alexandria Bloodshow is the official sequel to that other fantastic genre mash-up. This time players can take control of two separate armies – the Egyptians and the Greeks – as they attempt to collect, cut-up, and conquer. With the requisite art styles (Greek pottery, Egyptian hieroglyphics) to match of course. All the engrossing card gathering and deck building is still on offer, now with a whole new set of units to strategize with. Over 120 in all, actually. And with the two selectable armies, five difficulties, and seventeen stages it makes for a total of 170 campaign levels to conquer. And that’s not even taking the two player versus mode (via WiFi or Bluetooth) into account.

Alexandria Bloodshow is available on the App Store now, and it’s only $0.99. Okay, it's actually free to download but it's $0.99 to unlock the full game. Not a bad deal.

A good number of people are familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, whether they've actually watched it or not. As far as anime goes, it's kind of a big-name series. And unlike other popular series (*cough* Dragon Ball Z *cough*) it's actually good. The story of the Elric brothers has seen a number of adaptations and spin-offs, so it was only a matter of time before one of those spin-offs got its own game.

FMA Battle is a relatively new collectible card game based on the "less old" Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series. Calling it a spin-off, however, isn't entirely accurate. The original show followed the manga (a.k.a the source material) up until about the halfway mark, then went off and did its own thing. Brotherhood sticks to the script, so to speak. So technically, the original anime series was actually a spin-off. Confusing, no?

Getting away from semantics and back to the game at-hand, FMA Battle is a free-to-play CCG set in the FMA universe. Players will construct their deck and customize a team of three alchemists while continually dueling with others online. Cards/characters will gain experience as they're used, earning new abilities as they get incrementally stronger. Of course, this is a freemium game, so deck expansion is limited unless players are willing to pony up some actual cash to buy new cards.

Free online multiplayer. Collectible cards. Fullmetal Alchemist. I think it's safe to assume this will find its niche pretty fast. If it sounds interesting, then why not check it out? It's currently on the App Store, and as I've previously stated (repeatedly) it's free.

Lots of genres are a bit over-saturated on the App Store, and card games are no exception. Combination card and fighting games, however, are few and far between. Aware of this deficiency, Hothead Games has seen fit to release Kard Combat this week. For the low low price of nothing.

Granted it's still more of a card game than a fighter; players choose from a handful of different mages with a few unique cards in their collection, matches involve planning and strategy as opposed to quick reflexes and so on. The fighting aspects have more to do with the brevity of each match and their one-on-one nature. It utilizes a slightly less complex version of the "line of cards" system some are no doubt familiar with, in which each user lines up their cards while any unopposed summons will do direct damage to the opposing player. Naturally, some cards have special effects that can create some interesting strategies.

Players can try out each of the four types of mages (Holy, Death, Machine and Dominator), as well as the Single Duel and multiplayer modes, for free. Full access to a single mage's campaign will require an in-app purchase of one dollar, while unlocking all four will cost three. And for any players interested in diving straight in to the multiplayer stuff, everything (all cards, etc...) can be unlocked for ten dollars. Bear in mind that the cards can eventually be unlocked through diligent play, and that the ten dollar purchase is only necessary for those who don't want to "waste time" with the singleplayer campaign.

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