Emporea: Realms of War & Magic 12+

In terms of game mechanics, I'm not sure a single aspect of Emporea is novel in creative terms. I sit here hard pressed to name one aspect of the gameplay that can't be found in one or likely more other games as such a direct analog "stolen" feels more honest than "inspired". Even the "feel" of the game seems very direct,y cribbed from a title I imagine most playing this are too young to be aware of.

So why 4 out of 5? Simple... While every aspect of gameplay seems ripped off from other titles, the devs were impressively successful in terms of how the pick and choose features they cobbled together combined to streamline and iron out virtually all the problems with the games they've borrowed from. I can name over half a dozen other games that use feautures found in Emporea that came out months or years before it, every single one has chronic problems that Emporea lacks. They didn't "fix" much so long as they borrowed all the good while ditching all the bad. Which is, first of all, quite an astonishing feat of design in its own right. But more relevantly, makes this a game featuring a lot of tired and true fun elements, but with none of the frustrations usually associated with them.

The games works as an empire planner, with a growing city and army with steadily increasing numbers of upgrading buildings. You have upgrades you can research for both your army and spells that let you sort of achieve "instant gratification" in exchange for mana (a free, but slowly gathered material). Your general levels and you can divide his skills into various (and pleasantly complex) trees, choosing a large variety of focus. Besides gathering resources over time, you can raid NPC camps, or if you're feeling bold, other players. The game favors defense easily, however, so how much you want to avoid PVP is pretty up to you... Players willing to drop resources into buildings/upgrades and skill points into certain traits can render themselves pretty unassailable and thus turn the game into a PVE experience, at the cost of lost focus on other areas. The races are pleasantly diverse and enrich play as well. Simple, colorful sprite graphics leave the game much more charming than most of its ilk. The game of course involves IAP, but strikes that rare, awesome balance where people with disposable income/hacking skills can't pay-to-win TOO much, the IAP is reasonably priced, but also offers benefit enough that it isn't so paltry it feels like donating... Perfect for players who want to play for free without getting screwed, or who are fans of paying in a little and feeling like they got something. The game is also pretty good about special events... It seems like one is going on once a week, and they've all been fun in my experience. My biggest criticism is that the setting/story is the most original and creative part of the game (no humans? Whaaaat...) and they really don't USE it enough, for that being the case. The biggest flaw objectively, I'd say is that while the auto-resolving number comparison combat system is functional, it feels like a missed opportunity. An actual map, moving units turn by turn, using spells to change the odds mid battle, these things exist in games it's clear the devs are familiar with, but are disappointingly absent.

All in all.... Well, the game is free, you know? And unlike a lot blasting that, you CAN play totally for free and still be competitive. So... Give it a try. For strategy/empire planner games, this is pretty top flight, so assuming you're ok with the fact this is a game improving on old formulas rather than trying to be different, this is worth a look... Because it executes said perfecting quite well.

I love this game. I wish there was a human faction. I love Lord of the Rings and they were there among elves and dwarves. This may just be me being selfish, but I do love the game regardless. It would be cool though. I don’t know if it would be possible to add them in.

I support this game all the way, it is my all time favorite game.