WarGames: WOPR. An utterly brilliant strategy game of the orginal 80′s film!
by Paul Wilks
Sep 12, 2012 7:44 AM –
Install
WarGames: WOPR is an official game tied to the original 1983 movie. The seminal sci-fi flick was one of the first to concern itself with video games, coming just a year after the release of Tron. The Android game is a gorgeous neon strategy game that blends elements of Bejeweled and Boggle-style word games. It features images from the original movie and two different modes of play. It’s also heavily, and I mean heavily, addictive.
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Cool graphics!
- Brilliant sound!
- Incredibly addictive!
- Very challenging!
Features:
WarGames: WOPR is an utterly brilliant strategy game that’s loosely based on the WarGames movie. While the original supercomputer fixated on tic-tac-toe, gameplay here pits you against film characters in a board-based strategy puzzle. You send missiles via linking three or more missile icons together. Likewise you can string green crosses to improve your health and satellite dishes which go towards additional weapons. Cash, which goes towards weapon upgrades and other power-ups, can also be collected in such strings.
Your opponents attack icons are introduced at the top of the screen and display the attack power in addition to how many turns until the weapon is deployed. If you string these icons enough the attack power diminishes, so you need to use strategy to protect yourself from big attacks. Other elements are gradually added as you progress through the story mode so you are able to prevent them collecting money, satellite credits and more.
Gameplay immediately reminded me of two game genres. Because you have to link three items or more together there’s a distinct Bejewelled feel to the game. Additionally, as you string items together around the board, it seems very much like word-finding titles such as Boggle. Visually, it shares some neon similarity to the likes of HexDefense, explosions in WarGames: WOPR are just as dramatic as those in the tower defence title. I think, however, that such comparisons come no where near to really describing this awesome strategy game. The game features very many weapons, characters to fight, upgrades, narratives and power-ups so there’s massive depth there. It is incredibly challenging and addictive… the first time I loaded it up I played it for three hours straight, I just couldn’t put it down!
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There are two modes; a Story mode and Endless mode. Story mode takes you through various narratives and you play against characters from the movie. You occasionally play an alternative ‘Poker’ mode where you must drop the enemy missiles to the bottom of the screen before they attack. Endless mode pits you against characters with progressively more HP, meaning levels get harder. There are Easy, Normal and Hard settings so it can be as simple or tough as you want.
I should add that you can collect as much cash as you like and pretty much upgrade or buy new weapons on each level, but there is the ability to make additional in-app purchases. That said, I did feel this was a feature that was genuinely optional, rather than a specific developer ploy to encourage you to spend money. In a nutshell- exactly how it should be.
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WarGames – Gameplay view
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WarGames – White numbers display number of turns until you get attacked back
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WarGames – The more missiles strung together the bigger the hit
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WarGames – These improve life
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WarGames – String icons together for bigger attacks
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WarGames – Hit hard!
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WarGames – Level complete
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WarGames – Intro screen
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WarGames – Menu
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WarGames – Level select
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WarGames – Play against various movie characters
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WarGames – Mods
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WarGames – Tactics upgrades
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WarGames – In-app purchases
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WarGames – Settings
Fun Factor:
WarGames was a great movie and it’s very cool to feel apart of that. The gorgeous neon interface, movie references and awesome gameplay make it a supremely fun game from beginning to end.
Addictive:
I’ve played through four levels just trying to write this review. Every time I switch this game on I lose several minutes. It’s distracting, addictive, captivating and I’m kind of obsessed with it. For me personally it’s right up there with Tiny Tower, Muffin Knight and Game Dev Story for addictiveness rating… which, in a nutshell, is off the chart.
Graphics:
There is a lot of dialogue and neon icons as it attempts to replicate retro computer graphics of the early 1980′s. However there are still some cool animations when missiles are fired and things explode.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is a mixture of retro computer beeps, retro-coded explosion sounds and Stephen Hawkings-style computer-talk. Trust me though, it comes together brilliantly and really works.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Game,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Bejewelled,
Boggle,
Movie,
Puzzle,
retro,
Strategy,
Wargames: WOPR
Categorised in: Arcade & Action
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