Terra Battle (iOS)

Terra Battle makes a great first impression, but lacks immersion... ~_~

Beyond the typical freemium card collection mechanics, Terra Battle is a light strategy game with a cohesive theme.

The grid based battle system provides a light amount of strategy (something generally lacking in the genre), but left me wanting more. Players must maneuver their units onto opposite sides of the enemy unit(s) in order to attack them (xox, xoox, xooox, and so on). Other friendly units in the same row or column as the attackers will boost their attack and trigger helpful skills.

The player can only directly move a single unit on a given turn and has a limited amount of time to get that unit into position. Since a single unit cannot attack by itself, players need to do their best to push other units into position during that same turn.

The numerous frantic circular motions required to achieve a decent attack is reminiscent of the match-3/match-4 based games in the monster collection genre. And, like other freemium collection games, raw unit power felt more important than strategy in most cases.

While I didn't find it particularly compelling, the storyline in Terra Battle involves traveling through a bizarre violent world in search of The Maker. The text and artwork conveyed a consistent recognizable theme throughout the entire game. From hiring units at the tavern (through the power of written oaths) to slaying the lizard king the game sincerely feels and looks great.

Terra Battle provides players with a cohesive world to explore, and I really wanted to enjoy this game.. Was is the slow pace of the gameplay? The vague luck based recruitment? Or the energy based quest limitations? I doubt it... These elements are nearly universal in the freemium collection genre. Terra Battle simply didn't inspire me to want to keep playing, to really want to improve my units, or to care about who I collected. It didn't beckon me to share its world...

Despite lacking the immersion and addiction necessary for a freemium game in this genre, Terra Battle really has potential. I sincerely hope the developers have considered making a traditional strategy RPG version of the game.

Summary:

• + great overall theme
• + unique battle system
• • passable story
• • strategy often feels shallow
• - the slow grind
• - lack of immersion and addiction