Lob Anything And Everything At Your Enemies In 'Siegecraft'

21 Oct 2011 Reviews

Siegecraft is one of those games that, at first glance, seems to be your run-of-the-mill tower defense game, but with slightly different gameplay aspects to it. Instead of building towers and weapons as I was expecting, you only take control of one or two weapons: catapult and crossbow. Your job in each campaign is to help your bosses defend key areas on the battlefield. You'll launch arrows at your enemies trying to cross a bridge and lob cannonballs at unsuspecting viking ships from atop a cliff. As it turns out, Siegecraft is more fun than I expected but after a while suffers from feelings of deja vu. To shoot, slide your finger to move and aim the crossbow, or touch and pull back to shoot the catapult a la Angry Birds. The crossbow can fire in a straight line and has the quickest firing speed, while the catapult launches in an arch and is capable of traveling greater distances. It is sometimes difficult to aim and shoot due to the small screen of the iPhone or iPod Touch (this game is Universal so is also optimized for the iPad) but with a little practice you'll get the hang of it. Weapons can be upgraded and additional ammo is bought using coins earned by completing levels. Accumulating a large stash of coins can take a long time but it is achievable by replaying levels and through persistence. One way around this is to purchase it outright with real money but that wouldn't be as much fun, would it? There are three factions you will work for: Knights, Vikings, and Samurai. Each has their own visual styles and gear, but the basic gameplay of attacking or defending stays the same throughout the game without much change. This consistency,in turn, makes Siegecraft a little too repetitive. It just feels like you aren't getting anywhere...although it does get progressively challenging. Bottom line is it isn't as diverse as it could have been which is a let down for me. The graphics are nice. The world is in gorgeous 3D and enemies dissolve into a pile of blood and gore after a cannonball from one of your catapults hits its mark. Bombarded ships splinter apart and sink into the wonderfully rendered water. The presentation is compelling and immersive making battles seem larger-than-life. You'll sometimes see up to a dozen enemies about to overrun your position and it feels real. That's when panic sets in. In contrast to the real time gameplay of the single player, Siegecraft's multiplayer is turn based. This change in pace between single player and multiplayer is a total 180 and can be a little jarring at first.

There is a lot to like about Siegecraft. I admired the game's graphics and overall presentation. I personally liked the whole vikings vs. knights, samurai vs knights, etc. deal. The art direction is quirky and cartoony but it works. The diverse and wacky array of ammunition available including cows and ogre heads gives this game a special feeling. The game will definitely appeal to the casual gamer with it's simple control scheme and quick pick-up-and-play structure. Despite my gripes with the repetitive feeling gameplay, it's a solid game and the war between samurai, vikings, and knights will rage on with or without me. Who knows, maybe I'll pick it up again when they release an "angry bird" as ammunition.

AppPicker Rating: 4 / 5 Stars Pick It Up in the App Store: Siegecraft Other apps by Crescent Moon Games

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74RkQeOT8dM&feature=player_profilepage