mightbe
11-14-2009, 05:00 AM
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4016765803_8e92d3f13d_o.png (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?p=395888#post395888)
Product: Orions: Legend of Wizards (http://www.pocketmoregames.com/orions.htm)
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $4.99
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/4102882214_eb4ddb369b_o.jpg
A collectible card game you can take with you in your pocket? Amazing! Too bad it's a mess.
Now I'm probably a more of a fan of card games than most folks out there. I spend a few nights a month gathering at the local game store to draft and have even been known to play in the occasional larger tournament. So I'd like to think I'm rather qualified to say when a card game is fun or not. And perhaps that's why I'm about to be incredibly harsh on Orions.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2736/4102882480_d0fa05de96.jpg
Starting a game is easy enough (if it doesn't crash). Playing it is an exercise in frustration.
The game takes place on an overworld map filled with dozens of floating Orions. At the beginning of each game, you control a single island and must set out via airship and win a duel at each island you move to in order to bring it under your control. You'll gobble up each one of these bits of territory until you can corner your opponent and duel him into submission. Unfortunately, if either of you are defeated, you simply restart at your base until you're killed in your base, meaning that you have to win a streak of duels against your opponent to finish a campaign map.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/4102125271_5bc34df881.jpg
Maybe as you can see with the wayward arrow, the map interface is not the easiest thing to use.
The actually dueling is fun but the design decisions surrounding it are bafflingly unfun. Unlike other card games, you have no hand, you can pick any card from your collection to play providing you have the resources. Now here comes the stupidity. Each time you play a card, it disappears from your collection permanently. At the beginning of each campaign map, you start the map with a baffling assortment of one or two copies and eighty copies of some others.
So how do you get more cards then? Well by base building, of course.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2800/4102125695_b8de547666.jpg
Does this screen look like fun? Too bad. Because you'll be spending a lot of time on it.
Each Orion you control requires at least twelve screen taps a turn to manage (select, drag, and place your building) and you have a new Orion each time you win a duel. All of this overhead adds up quickly meaning you'll often times have a few minutes between each duel just of building new resource generating bits on your Orions so you can afford more cards to keep up your dueling habit. Toss in an interface for buying cards that will randomly add cards you're not even looking at and the frustration mounts to crazy high levels.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2509/4102125551_0617293000.jpg
MORE OF THIS PLEASE! And less mindless unit building mired in silly submenus.
But if you can get past horrible pacing and frustrating interface outside of duels, you've got a good amount of fun ahead of your outwitting your AI opponents with your magical creatures of choice.
If you're patient and have a CCG habit like I do, I'd pick this up if it goes on a decent sale. As it stands, I think the five dollar price is way too steep for what you're getting.
Moving Target (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=13112) is a weekly mobile gaming feature by Curt "Mot Wakorb" Lecaptain (clecaptain@colonyofgamers.com) and Rob "mightbe" Schuster (rschuster@colonyofgamers.com). Check CoG every Friday for updates. Hit us up if there's something you'd like us to cover.
Product: Orions: Legend of Wizards (http://www.pocketmoregames.com/orions.htm)
Platform: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $4.99
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/4102882214_eb4ddb369b_o.jpg
A collectible card game you can take with you in your pocket? Amazing! Too bad it's a mess.
Now I'm probably a more of a fan of card games than most folks out there. I spend a few nights a month gathering at the local game store to draft and have even been known to play in the occasional larger tournament. So I'd like to think I'm rather qualified to say when a card game is fun or not. And perhaps that's why I'm about to be incredibly harsh on Orions.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2736/4102882480_d0fa05de96.jpg
Starting a game is easy enough (if it doesn't crash). Playing it is an exercise in frustration.
The game takes place on an overworld map filled with dozens of floating Orions. At the beginning of each game, you control a single island and must set out via airship and win a duel at each island you move to in order to bring it under your control. You'll gobble up each one of these bits of territory until you can corner your opponent and duel him into submission. Unfortunately, if either of you are defeated, you simply restart at your base until you're killed in your base, meaning that you have to win a streak of duels against your opponent to finish a campaign map.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/4102125271_5bc34df881.jpg
Maybe as you can see with the wayward arrow, the map interface is not the easiest thing to use.
The actually dueling is fun but the design decisions surrounding it are bafflingly unfun. Unlike other card games, you have no hand, you can pick any card from your collection to play providing you have the resources. Now here comes the stupidity. Each time you play a card, it disappears from your collection permanently. At the beginning of each campaign map, you start the map with a baffling assortment of one or two copies and eighty copies of some others.
So how do you get more cards then? Well by base building, of course.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2800/4102125695_b8de547666.jpg
Does this screen look like fun? Too bad. Because you'll be spending a lot of time on it.
Each Orion you control requires at least twelve screen taps a turn to manage (select, drag, and place your building) and you have a new Orion each time you win a duel. All of this overhead adds up quickly meaning you'll often times have a few minutes between each duel just of building new resource generating bits on your Orions so you can afford more cards to keep up your dueling habit. Toss in an interface for buying cards that will randomly add cards you're not even looking at and the frustration mounts to crazy high levels.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2509/4102125551_0617293000.jpg
MORE OF THIS PLEASE! And less mindless unit building mired in silly submenus.
But if you can get past horrible pacing and frustrating interface outside of duels, you've got a good amount of fun ahead of your outwitting your AI opponents with your magical creatures of choice.
If you're patient and have a CCG habit like I do, I'd pick this up if it goes on a decent sale. As it stands, I think the five dollar price is way too steep for what you're getting.
Moving Target (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=13112) is a weekly mobile gaming feature by Curt "Mot Wakorb" Lecaptain (clecaptain@colonyofgamers.com) and Rob "mightbe" Schuster (rschuster@colonyofgamers.com). Check CoG every Friday for updates. Hit us up if there's something you'd like us to cover.