We’ll understand if you say it has been a while since you’ve heard of Zynga. They were once big when Facebook games were the “in thing”, but a rapid decline also saw Zynga take the full brunt of Facebook being an unstable platform for casual gaming. So here we are, with Zynga pressured to catch up with the mobile gaming industry – their first substantial offering is a mobile strategy game in “Empires and Allies”.
Truth be told, there is very little in this new game’s mechanics that will separate it from the ones that have come before it – namely Boom Beach and Clash of Clans. Those two latter titles claim the majority of Android gaming’s strategy game audience, and Empires and Allies mirrors the basic gameplay mainly because it’s the best way to do it on mobile. Players collect resources to build up their defenses and buy new units to your force. Resources generate at timed intervals, new buildings will take a certain amount of time to complete (unless you spend real money on the game).
The system worked for earlier games, because it’s designed to keep players coming back. Then other players can attack your base, so the trick is to build a camp that’s both efficient at generating resources and one that’s tough for invading forces. You can launch on from there, completing various missions, and also attacking other bases.
What will set it apart from the other strategy games out there? Well, Zynga has concentrated a lot on the production value – which means the look and feel of the game. You know Zynga from the cute games on Facebook, but not anymore. This is the reinvention of the outfit, and they’re finally using Mark Skaggs, a veteran of EA Games, to what he was hired to do, making sure this game looks like a classic, gritty RTS.
Also, the game allows users to enjoy the game by themselves, without having to rely on the MMO platform to get things going. There are over 250 missions that the users can play by themselves, to get the feel of the game and enjoy the content before actually going out and attacking real-world players. Is this something you might want to get into? We’re trying it for the heck of it, so tell us what you think. Pick up the game free via the download link below, it’s with IAPs.
DOWNLOAD: Google Play Store
