Countdown to the End: Road Warrior

The Road Warrior movies are fantastic. The sense of tension and dread that you feel when you watch the first film is just magnificent. The second movie, Mad Max 2 is perhaps one of the best movies with a post-apocalyptic theme ever made.

Of course, they were made in the early days before Mel Gibson was a psycho. I’m not quite sure what happened to him, maybe he fell apart as he got older, or maybe it was all the stress of the coming apocalypse. After all, he did make a movie called Apocalyptica, which actually had precisely nothing to do with the end days of humanity.

Regardless, we’re going to continue our countdown to the end, with a Road Warrior themed game. It’s not exactly an officially licensed title, but that’s okay. It will do.

While I don’t totally agree with the name because it’s certainly not the ‘best’ racing game, it’s a pretty damn good mobile title nonetheless. Gameplay is straightforward, yet more difficult than you would expect, and racing is just pure fun.

The primary goal in Road Warrior is obvious, you have to race and you have to win. The more you win, or the better you rank in the race, the more money you make. As with any other racing game, you can improve your vehicle and customize it to suit your personal tastes.

Of course, this is a post-apocalyptic game we’re talking about here, so every vehicle is outfitted with an array of weapons. Clearly, you use the weapons to your advantage in order to take out opponents and gain the lead.

Your car drives automatically, so in Road Warrior you don’t have to worry about pressing any buttons to accelerate. There is a button to shoot, a button to brake and two buttons to rotate your car. The spin buttons allow you to pull off tricks in the air, and ensure your vehicle lands upright. You have plenty of chances to do this, especially considering the tracks are filled with plenty of jumps, gaps and interactive environment.

Unlike a lot of other racing games out there, Road Warrior is 2D. You essentially race from one side of the screen to the other, and the tracks are extraordinarily long.

In-between races you can outfit your car with better armor, speed boosts and several other upgrades. You’ll also be issued missions to complete, most of which include winning a series of races. Don’t worry, you don’t have to win all your races consecutively. For example, one of my missions asked me to win three races, I won my first race, lost two others, and then won two more.

There are boss battles, as well. If you happen to win one of these races and take out a boss, you unlock their car, but let me just tell you- it’s devilishly hard to beat them.

An additional multiplayer game-mode is also offered, but first you either have to create a free account or register with your Facebook account. It should be noted that if you choose to register with your Facebook account, your timeline will be spammed with promotions and ads for the game by Mobjoy. How else do you think they get their money? Usually the game will ask you before posting, and this feature can be disabled, of course. It’s just a good aspect to take note of.

Multiplayer battles are essentially the same thing as the single player races. You participate online with groups of other players in order to win races. It’s pretty standard fanfare.

There are five different leagues to compete in, starting with the “Rookies” class for beginners and the “Warriors” level for sheer experts. You rank up as you win and place in races, and before each event you can bet a fair chunk of cash. Gambling adds a little extra fun into the mix, especially if you win.

Because this is a free to play game, there is an exclusive in-game currency. You earn money for winning races, which is entirely different from the main

currency, which is MP. You can earn free MP by completing offers, or by meeting certain objectives, like logging into the game with your Facebook account for instance. Then there’s always the option to purchase more MP with real cash.

Don’t worry though, you don’t need to spend any money to play and enjoy Road Warrior. You can play both online and offline single player without ever spending a dime.

The best part about the game is that Road Warrior is free, and you can get it in the Google Play store right now.

If the world is destroyed, and we’re thrown into a desolate universe of Mad Max like characters, and vehicular manslaughter then playing Road Warrior is an excellent way to train up. You never know what the end of the world is going to look like, might as well get ready for it now!

Road Warrior Trailer

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Countdown to the End: Death Dome

Whether you call it the T-virus, the Z-virus or the M-virus it makes no difference, they all have the same thing in common. Every one of those viruses transform human beings into something sinister, something primal.

Zombies are played out, so I’m glad this next game doesn’t actually do the whole zombie apocalypse thing.

The game for today is called Death Dome. It’s a post-apocalyptic hack and slash that has a lot in common with Dragon Slayer. In fact, if you’ve played Dragon Slayer then you already know how Death Dome plays, considering they use the same battle mechanics.

The “M” virus… Most people who showed symptoms were dead within days…but others weren’t so lucky. Mutations were showing up all over the city. The infected were quarantined in a bio-dome force field that encased the city of Palamira. Some called it a “safe zone”, but most know it as the Death Dome. The M virus grew stronger inside the Death Dome and eventually became strong enough to live on its own without a host. Strong enough to become…The Behemoths!

It goes without saying that Death Dome story takes place after the world has been ravaged by the M-virus. You play as a Phoenix, a strong woman who has been affected by the M-virus mutations. The common goal is to eliminate all the mutated baddies, and behemoths so that you and the rest of the survivors can escape the Death Dome.

The main gameplay in Death Dome is the hack and slash battles that you will participate in. Just like in Dragon Slayer, you attack enemies by slashing the screen in different directions with your finger. You can also dodge attacks, deflect them and block. By blocking, parrying or dodging at the appropriate times the enemies, you are facing become more vulnerable. When they’re exposed, you’re free to attack them with a whole slew of combos.

As you battle, you also build up a unique energy bar called Flux. Once your Flux capacity reaches 100%, you can unleash a Flux attack (very original terms here). A Flux attack essentially allows you a few seconds to unleash attacks on your enemies while they are stunned, and at the end you can perform a powerful finishing attack.

Obviously, Death Dome isn’t just about the intense hack and slash battles. Before each enemy appears, you are given a few seconds to scavenge the levels for coins and resources. This is done by tapping continuously on an icon that displays on the screen.

Behind the scenes, you can upgrade armor, weapons, and equip unique charms to gain special abilities and statistics. Leveling your character is fairly straightforward, as each level you achieve more HP is automatically added to Phoenix.

Like the other games I’ve talked about in the Countdown to the end series, Death Dome is free. That also means that the in-game segment sees a freemium sales model. There are portions of the game that will require you to grind for extended periods of time to get enough money so that you can buy better equipment to progress. That is, of course if you don’t want to spend any real world cash for in-game currency.

Dragon Slayer uses the same exact freemium model for digital goods, so if you’ve played that game then you know how Death Dome operates.

Personally, I think the battles are compelling enough to warrant the long hours of grinding that is required to advance. For others, this may not be the case.

Still, it’s hard to deny the usefulness in Death Dome. It’s a brilliant way to prepare for the impending apocalypse. You can chop and cut all kinds of baddies with weapons like a stop sign, and shields like a car door. While this may not be the most realistic form of equipment ever included in a game, it clearly teaches you to utilize your surroundings and take advantage of whatever resources you can.

Of course, you’re not actually scavenging for any resources in Death Dome so you’ll have to build up those skills another way.

If you'd like to give Death Dome a try, you can find it in the Google Play store.

Death Dome Trailer

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Countdown to New Beginnings: The End App

Well, it’s Friday December 21, 2012, and we’re still alive. There are no catastrophic changes in the Earth’s climate, and there have been no world ending incidents. Where I am, located in Sunny Florida within the United States, it rained early this morning, but that was it.

As far as we’re concerned it’s a just another beautiful day. That means our Countdown to the End series was actually a countdown to new beginnings.

In light of our current predicament, which is the world will trudge on in a normal fashion, I will close out this series with one final game. This next game is a real treat, of course, it still maintains the apocalyptic theme.

The End is a free running game on rails, very similar to Temple Run, albeit with a unique twist. You play as a lone survivor, trying to outrun the apocalypse.

The world comes to an end; run like hell, collect duct tape, and buy goodies for your survival camp. Once the streets are deserted, everything is covered in lava, and you are alone. Yet, you hear the call… and even in the middle of the Collapse, you know it is time to run, to survive!

Run!

The End App challenges your reflexes and offers infinite game play with progressive level design and multiple environments. Jump over the burned down police car and reach the hidden duct tape while running through the deserted city. You will be guided through 28 days with 5 challenges for each day. Practice with free-runs for a challenge or buy boosters to take the edge off, but never, ever take your eyes off the duct tape! Collect them!

The controls are easy to learn. To jump, you swipe up on the screen, to slide you swipe down and to turn you swipe left or right respectively. As your character runs through each level, you just have to avoid all of the obstacles and navigate the course.

While running through each level you just have to tilt your device to move left and right on the screen. The tilt controls seem to be just right; they aren’t too sensitive or sluggish.

You collect green duct tape, which can be compared directly to collecting golden coins in Sonic. Except in The End you can use the duck tape as currency to purchase new powerups and character upgrades.

There are three different parts of the “city” to explore, which all essentially comprise a destroyed urban environment that serves as your running terrain. One of the sections is labeled as the “Pro” running course, and you have to spend money to unlock it. Like in Angry Birds though, there is plenty of material included for free if you don’t want to spend any money.

You can either freerun through each course, or complete various challenges while doing so. Challenges include doing things like collecting a certain amount of duct tape rolls, or doing a select number of slides. There is an endless supply of challenges to complete so you won’t get bored as long as you don’t mind repetition.

The freerun game mode essentially plays like an arcade title where you just go through the track to see how long you last.

There isn’t much to this game seeing as it’s not incredibly deep or engrossing so I’ll stop here. Take my word for it though, The End is a lot of fun, but it is best played in spurts.

You can find The End via the Google Play store for free.

The End App Game Trailer (Trailer has no sound)

The world may not have ended, but I can certainly pretend like it did thanks to the long list of games that I’ve promoted this week. I’m off to play some more post-apocalyptic titles.

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Countdown to the End: Gaslight

As I mentioned in the last part of this series, you never know what the end of the world is going to look like. It could end up being a Mad Max style wasteland, a lush and desolate tropical paradise, or an infinite cover of ice and snow.

It only makes sense that after the apocalypse, advanced electricity will be gone and right along with it all the luxuries that it provides. Anyone who survives will have to find a new way to live. That includes creating makeshift machinery and tools. Personally, I like to think that it will be available thanks to several other energy sources.

This is where the steampunk genre comes in. Most of us fell in love with the genre with Fallout 3, or Fallout: New Vegas, but they aren’t the only steampunk titles around. Both of those games saw you vying to survive in a world that has been destroyed by a nuclear holocaust.

However the world ends, playing steampunk games is a good way to practice for what comes after.

Gaslight is a steampunk inspired strategy game that puts an emphasis on RTS style gameplay. It mixes a little bit of city-building simulation tactics with RPG elements. The bottom line is that it’s incredibly fun to play, albeit quite a bit challenging.

You’re not on present day Earth in Gaslight; instead the story takes places in a fictional world called Eastland. Your job is straightforward and unembellished, build your post-apocalyptic city the best you can while also defending it from the dangers of this new world.

You’ll need to create an empire entirely from scratch, and that includes outfitting an army. You don’t have to do it alone though because you can play cross-platform with friends on Android and iPhone devices.

This is a realtime strategy game, which means that after every structure that you build, every resource you craft, and every unit you make you will have to wait a certain amount of time for the operation to complete. This process is no different from any other city building game like Paradise Island, Smurfs Village or The Oregon Trail: Settler.

Where Gaslight differs from all of those other city building titles, is the conquest mode and individual battles. When a battle takes place, you enter a turn based strategy mode where each opposing team takes turns to attack one another. The conflict usually plays out against a visually appealing backdrop, which just adds to the atmosphere.

Keep in mind, this is the type of game you play in spurts, especially considering most of the time you are spent waiting for resources to renew or build, you won’t want to play Gaslight nonstop. It’s perfect for the times when you want to be productive in real life, and then take five to ten minute breaks.

Of course, if the world actually does end on Friday, then games like this won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Still, Gaslight is a excellent way to practice for the potential apocalypse. It teaches you how to handle military units, rebuild a city from scratch, and to generate resources. It’s free to play, and you can get it in the Google Play store.

Check it out, you might be surprised with what you get. In the meantime, I’m going to stock up my bomb shelter with Spam.

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Countdown to the End: Death Dome

Whether you call it the T-virus, the Z-virus or the M-virus it makes no difference, they all have the same thing in common. Every one of those viruses transform human beings into something sinister, something primal.

Zombies are played out, so I’m glad this next game doesn’t actually do the whole zombie apocalypse thing.

The game for today is called Death Dome. It’s a post-apocalyptic hack and slash that has a lot in common with Dragon Slayer. In fact, if you’ve played Dragon Slayer then you already know how Death Dome plays, considering they use the same battle mechanics.

The “M” virus… Most people who showed symptoms were dead within days…but others weren’t so lucky. Mutations were showing up all over the city. The infected were quarantined in a bio-dome force field that encased the city of Palamira. Some called it a “safe zone”, but most know it as the Death Dome. The M virus grew stronger inside the Death Dome and eventually became strong enough to live on its own without a host. Strong enough to become…The Behemoths!

It goes without saying that Death Dome story takes place after the world has been ravaged by the M-virus. You play as a Phoenix, a strong woman who has been affected by the M-virus mutations. The common goal is to eliminate all the mutated baddies, and behemoths so that you and the rest of the survivors can escape the Death Dome.

The main gameplay in Death Dome is the hack and slash battles that you will participate in. Just like in Dragon Slayer, you attack enemies by slashing the screen in different directions with your finger. You can also dodge attacks, deflect them and block. By blocking, parrying or dodging at the appropriate times the enemies, you are facing become more vulnerable. When they’re exposed, you’re free to attack them with a whole slew of combos.

As you battle, you also build up a unique energy bar called Flux. Once your Flux capacity reaches 100%, you can unleash a Flux attack (very original terms here). A Flux attack essentially allows you a few seconds to unleash attacks on your enemies while they are stunned, and at the end you can perform a powerful finishing attack.

Obviously, Death Dome isn’t just about the intense hack and slash battles. Before each enemy appears, you are given a few seconds to scavenge the levels for coins and resources. This is done by tapping continuously on an icon that displays on the screen.

Behind the scenes, you can upgrade armor, weapons, and equip unique charms to gain special abilities and statistics. Leveling your character is fairly straightforward, as each level you achieve more HP is automatically added to Phoenix.

Like the other games I’ve talked about in the Countdown to the end series, Death Dome is free. That also means that the in-game segment sees a freemium sales model. There are portions of the game that will require you to grind for extended periods of time to get enough money so that you can buy better equipment to progress. That is, of course if you don’t want to spend any real world cash for in-game currency.

Dragon Slayer uses the same exact freemium model for digital goods, so if you’ve played that game then you know how Death Dome operates.

Personally, I think the battles are compelling enough to warrant the long hours of grinding that is required to advance. For others, this may not be the case.

Still, it’s hard to deny the usefulness in Death Dome. It’s a brilliant way to prepare for the impending apocalypse. You can chop and cut all kinds of baddies with weapons like a stop sign, and shields like a car door. While this may not be the most realistic form of equipment ever included in a game, it clearly teaches you to utilize your surroundings and take advantage of whatever resources you can.

Of course, you’re not actually scavenging for any resources in Death Dome so you’ll have to build up those skills another way.

If you'd like to give Death Dome a try, you can find it in the Google Play store.

Death Dome Trailer

View the original article here

Continue reading →