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We first saw the Kings Can Fly promo video a few months back and since then we’ve been waiting for the Firedroid developers to release their game…. the wait is now over!  Check out its good points below…

Gameplay 

You’re a king who has finished conquering the kingdom and the state of peace is sending you to sleep.  So what do bored rulers do?  Obviously they listen to their young and beautiful assistants who tell them they should go on one last trip and see the world from high in the sky!
Being the almighty ruler of your domain, you set out with a convoy of airships and you need to travel the world going through all the checkpoints.  But of course you can’t just sit and wait for the wind direction to suit you before you set off… oh no… you’re the king… so you will create your own wind eddies!  That’s right you set out in your airship and then you strategically put down directional fans, lift fans and whirlwinds (yes that’s not a typo!) in order to guide your balloons to the docks.  After you have all your equipment in place then you open the gates and see if the wind currents are correct to fly you to your goal.

At this point the game probably still sounds weird because you’d think that a civilisation which is amazing enough to make airships (which can survive whirlwinds!) would also be clever enough to make them fly in any direction… but nope.  For some reason they were in such a rush to make these machines that they can only travel in straight lines. This explains why they need to throw contraptions around the map in order to redirect the balloons.  Luckily for us, this creates a very unique little puzzle game which is enjoyable and yet challenging at the same time.

Intuitive Controls 

I love developers who put time and care into controls because it can make or break a game.  In this case the Firedroid developers have gone to town with the camera controls and they’ve given their players all the bells and whistles: there’s basic single touch and drag for camera panning; then there’s pinch to zoom; they’ve got multi-touch twist to pivot the camera; and finally there’s multi-touch for camera elevation.  Of course this is just a nice to have which makes the game easier to play, but the attention to detail has also gone into the fan placement.  It’s very clear how to put a fan down and the choice of which direction it’ll be blowing is obvious too.  I’m particularly happy that the directional fan buttons will auto-rotate as you spin your view around.

Sweet Graphics & Sounds 

This is a great little pathing puzzle game which is put in a beautiful fully rendered 3D environment (yet another Unity engine success!).  Personally I find the model graphics to be just right… not too detailed… but still delicate enough to be pretty.  They’re also subtly animated to bring the whole game to life.  Though I must say, what really impresses me is how the 2D graphics and the in game 3D meld together easily.  The themed stylisation has really worked some magic and the quality music really sets the scene for a relaxing fantasy game.

Puzzle Problems

Personally I’ve found that some of the puzzle concepts within Kings can Fly and the core methods to solve them are very much like a Sokoban puzzle.  The difference is that you tend not to go back on your old routes and instead you’ll keep heading forwards.  Using Sokoban elimination methods will let you figure out where to place the guidance fans.  My only negative about the puzzles are that they seem either really easy or really hard… there’s not much inbetween.
As with all puzzle games there’s the concern that one would get stuck on a level and not be able to progress.  But the developers have tackled this in multiple ways i) there are multiple routes on the level map (which means you don’t need to complete all the levels), ii) there’s a tips button.  If you activate the game tip within the game then flags will appear, thus telling you where you should put your wind devices.  This way you’ll never get stuck, and you’ll always have something to play.

Full / Free:  The Free version of the game has adverts and 13 levels. [Ed: Adverts were removed from the free version!]  The Full game has 60 levels and we think its worth it if you like puzzle games.  To be honest, we’re not sure if the first 13 levels are a good reflection of how difficult the puzzles are or of how good the game is.

Rating: 4/5 Kings Can Fly is a superb and unique puzzle game which lets you feel the love and care of the developers.  This brain taxing game will definitely keep you occupied for a good while!

Kings Can Fly Tips and Tricks:

• If you get stuck with planning the route from beginning to end, then try backwards planning and set the route from end to beginning instead.
• There are often times when puzzles seem impossible.  In those cases then look carefully at where you can position your fans.  Have you definitely followed through on all your logic correctly?  You’ll often find that there may be some more alternatives at the beginning of your route.
• Whenever a puzzle has you stumped and you think there’s no redirections possible, then take a step back and look at the overall map.  The maps have little islands of land or arbitrarily placed tornados.  So if you’re not utilising them then you may be doing something wrong.
• In addition to trying to use the objects you’ve been given, then also tend towards planning out long and convoluted routes.  Try and think the following: “I’m the king and I’ve got tons of cash, so I want a scenic route around the map before going to the docks…” and that might help you solve the puzzles better.

Back in the nineties there was a strong period of strategy games which spawned the likes of Mega Lo Mania, The Settlers, Warcraft… the list is endless and now the developers at Noble Master Games have created a strategy game for your touchscreen phone: Desert Stormfront.  Check out the good points about this game below…

Gameplay

This is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game which means that all the action happens live in real time as opposed to turn based games.  This means that you need to think quickly and react instantly.  Perhaps a better explanation is that Desert Stormfront is like Starcraft 2, but it’s a cut down version instead.  For you classic gamers out there, then the best description is that this is a cross of Command and Conquer with Civilization 2.

At this point you may still wondering how such a complicated game type could be put into a touch screen phone and maybe you’re thinking about what kind of game compromises have been made.  Well I can gladly say that this is very close to a full RTS. There’s resource gathering, economy management, unit production, complementing military units, the fog of war and most importantly you have to control your units to obliterate the enemy.  To satisfy proper hardcore RTS fans then there are even control groups which you can assign units to!

Relative to the vast domain of growing mobile phone gamers, these strategy games are likely to be very niche.  So to add a bit more color for those who still don’t know about RTS games, here’s a very short overview.  In Desert Stormfront you need to send jeeps into oil refineries and strongholds to take ownership of them.  Once you own the oil refineries then you will automatically generate cash which will fund the military unit production at your strongholds.  After you have your economy setup then you can start building an army.  (When in doubt the trick is to mass build the units you think will work.)  The best players will understand that the unit composition is critical to win in the fights – all units have their strengths and weaknesses.  Then the aim is to storm the enemy strongholds and wipe them out, but usually you’ll need to send multiple waves of units to whittle down the enemy forces.  There are control groups available so you can then direct sets of units at once (instead of clicking on each single unit).

Gut feel

Desert Stormfront is pretty darn amazing and the campaign missions seem to be as clever as the modern RTS missions.  The ability to play this game with one finger touch is truly amazing and the developers have definitely accounted for many factors.  Eventhough multi-touch doesn’t appear to be employed here, we suspect this won’t be far away as the phone technology gets to that fully reliable multi touch state.

First Thoughts

When our team sat down with the game we were blown away by the epic music tracks that are in the game.  They make you feel like you’re about to go to war in Gladiator and there’s beautiful depth in sound!  The next big thing anyone would notice is the old school elements…

Retro action

This game is fully stylised with nineties classic sprite graphics which are accompanied with old school midi-like sound effects.  As I write this even I am confused because there’s very high quality music which is matched up with low quality sound effects… but it works!

What’s in this Free Version?  

There’s a tutorial and four missions given for you to try.  Although that may sound like very little, quite a lot is exposed: you get to see most of the Land, Sea and Air units (Jeeps, Tanks, Submarines, Hovercraft, Carriers Choppers and Fighters come to mind).  In addition to this you will see the core game mechanics.  So if you like these types of games then you’ll know if Desert Stormfront is for you.

Downers: Unfortunately not everything is explained in the game so it’s quite easy for a new player to get lost.  Even a semi experienced player may have to play the same round a few times in case they make a round losing mistake.  Although we’ve praised the developer’s single touch interface solution, it’s still tough to use.  We suspect a new player would find it sticky and a hardcore purist would feel too restricted.  Is this what it would be like playing starcraft 2 with a single button mouse on the mac?

Rating: 4/5 A truly superb Real Time Strategy game for your mobile phone.  We highly encourage all players to give the free version a try.  If you like this game then buy the full version!

Desert Stormfront Tips and Tricks:

• The single touch interface would probably be the first big problem.  In order to get used to this, try thinking about your actions in pairs.  i.e. your first touch will select, and then your second touch will be to control whatever you’ve selected.  Otherwise you’ll end up accidentally ordering your units to walk into each other.
• After getting accustomed to clicking, then get used to assigning and unassigning control groups.
• Control groups are crucial for being efficient in the fights.  You may want to consider sub control groups so that you can micro manage your units to spread your attacks during fights.  This is especially important if you’ve massed up your units.
• Keep spending your money on building military units – there’s no point in having tons of cash and not spending it.
• Select units which will counter and defeat your opponent’s army.  In order to figure out a unit’s strengths and weaknesses then click on the unit and look at the little barcharts to determine which vehicle type it’s best against.
• Multi tasking is the key.  Don’t just stare at what you see on the screen.  Remember that you can open the mini map and use that to help you watch everything on the map at once.