DC Legends review
:: COLLECTIBLE COMICSPrice: Free
Version: 1.8.1
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Remember Mafia III: Rivals? What about Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes? If said yes to either of these, you'll know a lot of what to expect of DC Legends. You'll collect lots of heroes and villains from the DC universe and use them to fight and upgrade your way to the ultimate fighting team. There aren't a lot of new ideas in DC Legends, but the ones that are there help make it stand out.
Defeat the darkness
In DC Legends, an ancient race, called the Manhunters, threatens the universe, forcing the heroes and villains of DC Comics like Batman and Wonder Woman team up to save it. It's not the most original story in the world, but it does give an excuse for you to have Sinestro and Green Lantern fight side by side.
In the beginning of the game, you'll only have access to a handful of characters that you use to take turns fighting off Manhunters or other characters that have fallen to darkness. As you go though, you'll earn materials that you can use to unlock new ones or upgrade the team you already have. These upgrades extend beyond just a standard leveling up system, which is a nice change. In DC Legends, you can choose to upgrade specific gear and abilities on heroes to better fit your personal play style.
Turn-based brawling
In battle, your team of up to four characters trade blows with enemies, but if things were as simple as that, whichever team with higher base stats will win out. To complicate things, every character in DC Legends has an affinity that grants them strengths and weaknesses against other characters with different affinities. This creates a sort of rock-paper-scissors combat system present in most games like this. It's not the most exciting battle system out there, but it works.
As an added layer of strategy, every character in DC Legends also has their own set of abilities that can really turn the tide of battle, and it's this ability system that lets the game stand out. While it's true that other games like DC Legends feature ability systems, the abilities in this game really fit their characters well and the pace at which you unlock new ones is generally faster than the competition. These simple system refinements make your teams in DC Legends feel like actual superheroes instead of merely collectibles.
The bottom line
DC Legends doesn't to a whole lot different from games like Mafia III: Rivals, but the fact that it deals in comic book characters makes it better suited for this type of game. Nothing in the game is a huge innovation, but if you're going to play one of these collection-based strategy games, DC Legends is a good one to pick up.