Go back to the days of go old RTS (Real Time Strategy) gaming in this great console friendly game that is 8-Bit RTS Series.
General Gameplay
The game is a true RTS (Real Time Strategy) style of game. For those that do not know what an RTS game is. It is all about building your armies and seeking and destroying your enemies. Some famous RTS games out there are Halo Wars, Starcraft Series, Command and Conquer, so if you watch video of those titles online you will get the just of how the game is. The Game Visuals for 8-Bit Armies series are done in an 8-bit style. The game is colorful and very easy to see on the screen. Think of how Minecraft is design in and this is how the visuals are done. Everything in the game is very easily seen from the units, to tanks and backgrounds. The game is design visually to be a throwback of the 8-bit era. The colors in the game are easily seen and vivid so even with colorblind issues will be able to see all the colors without any trouble. In our playtesting, we did not see any issues with the graphics in the game and felt that the game is very family friendly in its digital appearance. Audio in 8-bit Armies is with its mixture of guns firing, buildings exploding, and soldiers talking as well the announcer as well. The game has a mixture of a techno and guitar rift style of music that goes well with the game action. As the game does use spoken audio, we did not hear anything that would be offensive to any younger gamers. The game is well done in its audio in which where you can hear everything. 8-bit Armies is in 5.1 surround sound but anyone with a stereo setup can hear the game audio without any trouble. The Controls for 8-bit Armies are very easy to control. Now this is interesting as with most if any RTS games they are generally on the PC because using a keyboard and mouse is ideal for a game style like this. Well I have to say that the controller setup to create and command units is very user friendly. User friendly enough that anyone that has played a RTS style game can feel right at home and for newer gamers, it just takes a trip through the tutorials to learn how the controls work. In our playtesting the gamers in our group that are RTS fans were able to pick up and play the game without any trouble and were able to jump right into the gameplay, where the newer to RTS gamers had to go through the tutorial and play some games before they got the hang of it. The left thumb stick controls the action, where you use the X, Y, and B buttons on the controller to assign units to and the A button to move them around and attack. Now before you think that this is a hard setup for a gamer it really is not and we have to give props to the developer to make the game user friendly. In our playtesting we did not need to use a special controller but I will personally have to say that PC users will have a much easier time playing the game.
“8-Bit Armies is a must have game for any RTS fans out there. It takes the best parts of Command and Conquer and makes the controls user friendly for console play.”
Family Friendly
Now this is an interesting situation, when it comes to RTS style of games. The keyboard and mouse set up is king and is honestly IMHO the best way to play the game. What 8-Bit Armies does right is make the game fun and easy to control just by making the controls user friendly for the consoles. The game is just a fun overall game in which you build your armies and just go and destroy the enemy. Now what makes this a great game for RTS fans is that it is just not a basic game, there is a lot of depth into the game down to the paper-scissor-rock style of thinking when developing units and how well they fare on enemy units. This adds a dynamic that makes the gamer think that if I develop a lot of tanks and the enemy has a lot of anti-armor units then the enemy will have the upper hand in that fight, so the game makes you scout out the enemy and see what they have going on. This is a great way to better plan out your plan of attack. Also, you in the game weather you are a novice or an experienced RTS gamer you still must defend your base and manage your resources. So, there is some micromanagement in the game but not as heavy as other RTS out there in the market. Overall 8-bit Armies is a great game to have for your digital library and a great game for any gamers from the ages of 10 and up. Another aspect of the game that we really enjoyed was the co-op factor that the game has. It allows you and another player to team up and go against either the computer or even another team. This adds a lot of dynamic and strategy to the game as one player can build an army, and another can start to build different units to take on the enemy. We did not get a chance to try out the co-op feature of the game but have seen it in action and can say that this adds a lot of value to the game. In our special needs game testing, we did not encounter any issues with the game visuals, audio or even controls, however some gamers under the age of 7 did have some trouble at first with the game controls but after some gaming sessions this was not an issue.
Closing
If you are or even not an RTS fan, 8-bit Armies will make you one. With its simple interface, great gameplay and just overall fun, this is a must have for any digital library.
