modeps
04-15-2010, 06:13 AM
Title: Greed Corp.
Platforms: XBLA / PSN
Platform Reviewed: XBLA
Developer: W!Games (http://www.wgames.biz/)
Publisher: W!Games (http://www.wgames.biz/)
MSRP: 800 points / $9.99
Writer: Matt 'BalekFekete' Ford
Greed Corp. Review
"Greed is good."
Life is about choices - we all make them everyday. Normally those choices do not have enormous ramifications on our lives. That donut in the morning won't have long-reaching meaning besides a little heartburn and maybe an extra pound on the ever-frustrating scale of life. However, the residents of Mistbound live in a different universe than we do and face challenges we don't care to dream of when we fall asleep at night. In Mistbound four factions are scrambling to preserve the life they know and treasure. The caveat is the very fight to preserve their world is driving it faster down the road of destruction. The questions of greatest importance are which group will survive and how much of the world will be left to live upon!
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-1.jpg
Greed Corp. is a turn-based strategy game taking place on the deteriorating world of Mistbound. You must outwit, outplay, and outlast your opponents and be the last one standing on whatever remains of the world. The world is represented by hexagonal spaces of land built up on towers of rock in a global game of Jenga. I say that because as the game progresses, simply harvesting resources to create your buildings and troops causes the world to fall apart at the seams. The ground literally crumbles beneath your very feet, eventually toppling down into the abyss below. Anything caught upon that parcel of land meets the same unenviable fate.
Because of this dynamic the player must strike a delicate balance. You cannot build too rapidly as you will face the prospect of very rapidly having yourself confined to a small segment of land. However, you also cannot turtle up as in most real time strategy games and hope to win by pure attrition. To win you must be expanding onto the surrounding tiles all the while consuming those behind you to build your forces. Greed Corp. is all about timing - when and where to move, build, and attack. Oh - and to confound that problem is an ever ticking play clock. You have exactly 60 seconds per round for all of your moves. Run out of time and your turn ends. To win, as in chess, you must always be thinking several moves ahead.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-2.jpg
At the core of most RTS titles are the units. A player is usually greeted to multiple types of ground, air, and sea units - each with it's own upgradable path. Add to this a half dozen of buildings needed to manufacture your army. In a stroke of genius, Greed Corp. proves you can buck that tendency and play with a total choice of just five units. You have a basic harvester which pounds the earth for some unnamed resource which is immediately converted to money. The Walker unit is your basic military unit capable of moving across the board and attacking your opponents Walkers. There is an Armory where you can build those that unit, as well as a stationary Cannon capable of tossing shells onto unsuspecting neighbors and ruining their day. Finally there is a Carrier which can pick up your Walkers and deliver them to any spot on the game board. It seems entirely too simple of a design, but simple works very well here. Instead of technology trees and Zerg rushes you need to keep it simple.
Simplicity doesn't come without a cost. One of the more significant issues I had with Greed Corp. was the absolute elementary nature of combat. When you take a group of walkers onto an enemies tile, as long as you have more units than he does, you win. If you fire a cannon shell onto an amassed army, it will kill off a defined number and take the land down another notch. Even rock-paper-scissors has more complexity to it. While the constant ticking of the play clock made me glad this was the case, I would have preferred for example a dice roll during the combat. After all don't the underdogs sometimes win?
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-3.jpg
Action...reaction. Cause...effect. We've seen games come and go where your choices impact the path the game eventually takes. However, Greed Corp. raises the ante and makes those choices so significant that no two games will likely play out the same. This makes learning the game quite difficult, even to a level of controller-throwing frustration at times. But for those strategists who enjoy a challenge and are quick on their feet, Greed Corp. offers up a unique experience at a very affordable price point.
Score: 4.0 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good The game proves that simplicity is the best option in some places. Unique atmosphere that fits the game well. Great value for the price.
The Bad Significant learning curve. Lackluster story behind the game.
The Ugly That damn play clock...!
Platforms: XBLA / PSN
Platform Reviewed: XBLA
Developer: W!Games (http://www.wgames.biz/)
Publisher: W!Games (http://www.wgames.biz/)
MSRP: 800 points / $9.99
Writer: Matt 'BalekFekete' Ford
Greed Corp. Review
"Greed is good."
Life is about choices - we all make them everyday. Normally those choices do not have enormous ramifications on our lives. That donut in the morning won't have long-reaching meaning besides a little heartburn and maybe an extra pound on the ever-frustrating scale of life. However, the residents of Mistbound live in a different universe than we do and face challenges we don't care to dream of when we fall asleep at night. In Mistbound four factions are scrambling to preserve the life they know and treasure. The caveat is the very fight to preserve their world is driving it faster down the road of destruction. The questions of greatest importance are which group will survive and how much of the world will be left to live upon!
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-1.jpg
Greed Corp. is a turn-based strategy game taking place on the deteriorating world of Mistbound. You must outwit, outplay, and outlast your opponents and be the last one standing on whatever remains of the world. The world is represented by hexagonal spaces of land built up on towers of rock in a global game of Jenga. I say that because as the game progresses, simply harvesting resources to create your buildings and troops causes the world to fall apart at the seams. The ground literally crumbles beneath your very feet, eventually toppling down into the abyss below. Anything caught upon that parcel of land meets the same unenviable fate.
Because of this dynamic the player must strike a delicate balance. You cannot build too rapidly as you will face the prospect of very rapidly having yourself confined to a small segment of land. However, you also cannot turtle up as in most real time strategy games and hope to win by pure attrition. To win you must be expanding onto the surrounding tiles all the while consuming those behind you to build your forces. Greed Corp. is all about timing - when and where to move, build, and attack. Oh - and to confound that problem is an ever ticking play clock. You have exactly 60 seconds per round for all of your moves. Run out of time and your turn ends. To win, as in chess, you must always be thinking several moves ahead.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-2.jpg
At the core of most RTS titles are the units. A player is usually greeted to multiple types of ground, air, and sea units - each with it's own upgradable path. Add to this a half dozen of buildings needed to manufacture your army. In a stroke of genius, Greed Corp. proves you can buck that tendency and play with a total choice of just five units. You have a basic harvester which pounds the earth for some unnamed resource which is immediately converted to money. The Walker unit is your basic military unit capable of moving across the board and attacking your opponents Walkers. There is an Armory where you can build those that unit, as well as a stationary Cannon capable of tossing shells onto unsuspecting neighbors and ruining their day. Finally there is a Carrier which can pick up your Walkers and deliver them to any spot on the game board. It seems entirely too simple of a design, but simple works very well here. Instead of technology trees and Zerg rushes you need to keep it simple.
Simplicity doesn't come without a cost. One of the more significant issues I had with Greed Corp. was the absolute elementary nature of combat. When you take a group of walkers onto an enemies tile, as long as you have more units than he does, you win. If you fire a cannon shell onto an amassed army, it will kill off a defined number and take the land down another notch. Even rock-paper-scissors has more complexity to it. While the constant ticking of the play clock made me glad this was the case, I would have preferred for example a dice roll during the combat. After all don't the underdogs sometimes win?
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/greed-3.jpg
Action...reaction. Cause...effect. We've seen games come and go where your choices impact the path the game eventually takes. However, Greed Corp. raises the ante and makes those choices so significant that no two games will likely play out the same. This makes learning the game quite difficult, even to a level of controller-throwing frustration at times. But for those strategists who enjoy a challenge and are quick on their feet, Greed Corp. offers up a unique experience at a very affordable price point.
Score: 4.0 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good The game proves that simplicity is the best option in some places. Unique atmosphere that fits the game well. Great value for the price.
The Bad Significant learning curve. Lackluster story behind the game.
The Ugly That damn play clock...!