Red Conquest! (Episodes 1 & 2!) Review
- Publisher: Cat in a Box Software
- Genre: Simulation
- Released: 12 Dec, 2009
- Size: 18.6 MB
- Price: $0.99
PROS
- 8-way local multiplayer action.
- Great story.
- Uses turn-based sim elements in an RTS environment.
CONS
- Thrown straight in to the front lines with basic training.
VERDICT
Games usually teach as you play and gradually turn up the heat. Red Conquest! sets the dial to 11 and says "Behold! Mayhem!" and to be perfectly honest, it's still great fun.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Cat in a Box Games is the other name for iPhone game creator John Kooistra and Red Conquest! is the latest installment in a series of games involving the continuing war of Red and Blue. Where previous installments covered arcade shooters from different angles, Red Conquest is a pure real time strategy (RTS) and a treat to play.
There's a fairly steep learning curve for most casual players in most RTSs and the somewhat complex set of controls for Red Conquest keep that curve relatively steep for many new comers to the genre. In an attempt to provide immensely robust selection and movement controls it's easy to get a bit lost in the menus which is not something you want to fight with in the middle of combat. Most directions can be given simply through tap menus, but you'll want to manually drag to maneuver some units with more precision.
Like Blue Defense and Attack a simple highlighted outline style is used for character designs. It's a lot cleaner than the earlier games, but the special effects are also kept simple and UI elements like movement and selection circles are easy to understand. The gameplay is fairly unforgiving, so be aware that this is no casual challenge.
A game like this is a sweet treat to come by, with complex game elements and an intriguing story that's tied to a deeper world. While it would be better if the interface was streamlined a bit more, you don't have to use all the options available. This is without a doubt a great buy.
Screenshots
