Star Wars: Commander
Star Wars: Commander is definitely my favorite game this week. It’s challenging, it puts your strategic thinking to the test, you build stuff, you battle…it’s got everything it needs to be a super great game. And I really think it’s going to be my new addiction for some time now.
Ups: Star Wars: Commander is a game where you practically control everything. You take care of your Base, build it almost from scratch, and as you gain money and alloy materials, you make it bigger and stronger. How do you get these resources? By using the resources you initially have to build all sorts of Credit Markets, Alloy Refineries, and other buildings that, in time, start making more resources for you to use. And, of course, by fighting battles. You buy Training Camps, upgrade them, and train tens of Chewbaccas, Han Solos, and other good guys to fight against Darth Vader’s Troops. That is if you’re with the good guys. Because one of the greatest parts of the game is that, after a couple of fights, you get to choose your side: either be a Jedi Warrior fighting for the Alliance, or a Sith, fighting alongside Darth Vader.
The game is really complex and addictive. But although you have to build all these different buildings, collect resources, and fight battles, it’s only as time consuming as you allow it to be. Star Wars: Commander will send you push notifications whenever a building is done or your troops are trained. But it’s up to you if you wanna pick up the game now or later.
Downs: I must admit Star Wars: Commander got me so excited that I really don’t think there’s something about it I’m not satisfied with. It’s true, at first I was a bit bummed when I saw it was a building and collecting sort of game. But when I saw you also get to fight, and even the building part must be really strategically thought, I started linking this game. The Tutorial was also a bit annoying, because it kept pushing me to use special items to make everything move faster. But, if you decide to just ignore it, once the job is done, the suggestion to use those special items also goes away.
Download Star Wars Commander from the App Store
Assassin’s Creed: Memories
Assassin’s Creed: Memories is a pretty good game, but not as challenging and engaging as I might have expected it to be. I mean, compared to the PS, X-Box and computer versions, Assassin’s Creed: Memories is far from becoming as legendary as these versions.
Ups: Assassin’s Creed: Memories has really nice graphics, and pretty captivating character stories. You clear missions, build your guild, and face already famous enemies throughout different eras like The Third Crusade, Renaissance Italy or the Golden Age of Piracy. Every battle has its story, and, every story has its charm. You send mercenaries on Contracts. And every victory, whether your character’s, your Guild’s, or your allies’, raises your XP, your earnings, and provides your character with weapons and equipment from different eras. Plus, what I liked most is that at the beginning of the game, you get to choose the type of Assassin you want to be: impulsive or calculated, a shooter or a fighter, and so on.
Downs: Assassin’s Creed: Memories is pretty confusing. At the beginning, you get a Tutorial, showing you exactly how things work, but I, for one, found it overwhelming. At first, it just looks like a lot of work, and then, you see all you have to do is tap on objectives to solve them. Begin with those that have a better success rate, because as you complete those, the other objectives’ success rate will improve. Get a guaranteed success rate by using the limited number of hacks you have. And when you feel the time is right, and you have enough XP, stamina, and successfully cleared objectives, start a fight. But all you get to do in the fight is tap on the screen as fast as you can, and depending on how well you were prepared for the battle, you either catch the enemy or not.
The problem isn’t that it’s all numbers, and almost no action. After all, it is a card game. The problem is the game is not intuitive at all. It’s not clear how to add allies, if you can add allies, and what are your odds in a fight, so you know how to build your strategy. And the game screen is always filled with a lot of different information. So, really there were times that I felt absolutely lost, and didn’t know what my next move should have been. I’ve played other card, strategy games, both on board, and on the iPad. They were difficult, and time consuming, until you got the hang of how things worked. But the rules were clearer, and it didn’t all look so bulky.
Download Assassin's Creed Memories from the App Store
Swing Copters
The only reason why Swing Copters is on this list is that it has almost 4,000 downloads and a 4 star rating. And even though, next to Star Wars: Commander and Assassin’s Creed: Memories, it didn’t look like much at first sight, I said I have to give it a try. First impression: not pleased at all.
Ups: Swing Copters is a nice game. Fun time waster, especially since it’s not taking up much of your time. It’s a good game choice for when you only have a couple of minutes to spare, and want to put your reflexes to work. Because Swing Copters is all about reflexes, and how well you can manage to control the super cute, pixeled character on the screen. And it is a real challenge!
Downs: I wanna meet the person who lasts in this game more than a minute. Maybe I lack training. Maybe my reflexes aren’t that good. Whatever it is, I found it impossible to last more than a couple of seconds. I was an absolute disaster in guiding this little fella. And all I did was crush him into a wall. Or, if I managed to get to the hammers part, I crushed him into the hammers. Swing Copters is all about a pixeled character, on a pixeled background, that you will bust your brains out, and drill holes into your device with your fingers, while trying to help him avoid all the pixeled obstacles along his way. I admit it again: maybe I lack practice. But I can’t recommend a game that is so frustrating and so hard to control.
