Kingdom of Heroes – harvest, raid & build in this Medieval Tycoon game
by Paul Wilks
Jun 27, 2012 9:40 AM –
Install
Kingdom of Heroes is a slick combination of combat and tycoon game. Grow your burgeoning kingdom into one to be proud of. Farm crops, raid local kingdoms, complete quests, build armies, defend yourself and loads more in this detailed game. It’s a freemium title and supported through the Papaya social gaming network so, if you already use that service you have a good head start on what to expect!
Price: Free, plus In-app Purchases
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Nice graphics!
- Detailed game elements; missions, raids, farming, growing armies, lots of buildings and so on!
- Very sociable game with chat and interaction via Papaya!
- Epic musical score!
Cons
- Incredibly hard to earn crystals without buying them outright and the game includes very many items that can only be bought using crystals. This essentially means none of them will be available to you unless you pay.
- Growth is significantly stunted until you increase levels.
Features:
Kingdom of Heroes begins like any other tycoon game on Android and, let’s be honest, there are hundreds of them. This one lets you grow your own little kingdom and starts with just a few meagre buildings and a tiny farm space. As you progress you can build a bigger farm, grow new crops, construct new buildings and accumulate money for more of the same and so on. So far, a medieval-themed Farmville huh? Well that is when it gets a little different…
Built into Kingdom of Heroes is an entirely different pursuit. In addition to the farming and generic city growth of any freemium tycoon game, you also have the side which requires you to raid and pillage other kingdoms. Most new kingdoms you face are similar to yours and with progress they usually match you. From these battles (really just a screen which tells you if you’ve won or lost) you can accumulate points and wealth, etc. In this way, the game is a little like a combination of Enchanted Realm and Civilisation War.
Because of this, Kingdom of Heroes feels a little like two games in one and, with the additional goals and various in-game quests, there’s usually lots to do. As with all similar games you can only do so much before your energy and stamina run out and you have to wait for these to refill. There’s an entire market of replenishing potions to speed this up but you need to pay for these using crystals. There are two currencies; coins (easy to come by, lets you buy basic stuff) and crystals (nigh on impossible to come by unless you make in-app purchases, lets you buy all the cool stuff). So, to be honest, it’s pretty typical freemium fare, albeit with some more diverse gameplay options which keeps things interesting.
Progress is very structured and you can only go so fast. For example, you can only have so many farm plots and there are all kinds of items you do not have access to until your level increases. It’s OK if you are patient about these things, but for some people it will feel like being confined to the slow lane of the motorway. In this respect I found it a little too restrictive in places and often frustrating.
The game is supported for in-app purchases and social interaction via Papaya. On one hand this is great because if you have Papaya credits you can use them in the game. On the other hand, if you want to actually buy in-game credits you have to come well out of the game back into Papaya, then buy Papaya credits, then go back into the game and use said credits to buy crystals. It’s OK but using such a two-phase purchasing system can put people off. Still, if you’re a big freemium/tyccon game fan you’ll be used to this kind of thing. The stand out feature for you therefore should be that it combines the usual tycoon gameplay with cool missions and raids to carry out, which is more than enough to keep people engaged.
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Kingdom of Heroes – Early tutorial passages
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Kingdom of Heroes – Slowly growing village
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Kingdom of Heroes – Stats
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Kingdom of Heroes – Quests
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Kingdom of Heroes – Name you knight
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Kingdom of Heroes – Market
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Kingdom of Heroes – Kingdom
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Kingdom of Heroes – Buy items to make you stronger
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Kingdom of Heroes – Goals
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Kingdom of Heroes – Completed goal
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Kingdom of Heroes – Portalled through Papaya
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Kingdom of Heroes – Chat
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Kingdom of Heroes – Options
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Kingdom of Heroes – Those in-app purchases
Fun Factor:
If you enjoy these kind of titles, you will be sure to find Kingdom of Heroes engrossing and fun. It’s not going to win many converts from other genres of gaming, and there are several factors which slow down gameplay and restrict your fun unless you’re willing to pay, but this aside it will undoubtedly be enjoyed by the thousands of people who love these games. It certainly offers something different and this is refreshing.
Addictive:
I think games like Kingdom of Heroes are things you either love or hate. If you’re reading this and love tycoon-style accumulation games, you’ll definitely find yourself addicted to this if you allow it.
Graphics:
By and large the graphics are very good, certainly among one of the best examples of the genre. The menus and sub-menus are slick and well designed, making the environment immersive and fun to use.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The music is excellent. The game features a number of in-game scores which reflect what you are doing; different music for battles, etc. and more relaxed tunes for everyday farming. All-in-all, very good.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Game,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Civilisation War,
Enchanted Realm,
Freemium,
Kingdom of Heroes,
Tycoon
Categorised in: Casual, Licensed Content, Papaya Mobile
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