Sword & Soldiers is just over 5 years old now but surprisingly still feels fresh, just as it did in its 2009 début. Available on iOS, Android, PC, PS3, Wii Xbox 360 and the Nintendo 3DS, Two Tribes brings the HD version of the Ronimo’s game to Wii U.
Swords & Soldiers HD is a RTS (real-time strategy) game but made accessible to anyone who wants to jump into the genre. Instead of turn-based battles, you’re given resources to work with, gold and mana, which you’ll need to utilise in order to deploy troops, or towers, or cast spells and so on. Your battlefield is a 2D landscape, set all across the world, and as you deploy forces, they’ll rush off into battle with no hesitation, for better or for worse. There’s no time to carefully think about your plan of attack as the enemy, be it Aztecs or Blackbeard, will continually send their own forces to try and destroy your base, if they do, you lose! Conversely, if you destroy theirs, you win, simple enough.
There’s three classes/races to choose from and head off into an adventure with, the Vikings, the Aztecs and the Chinese. Each have different skill trees and abilities to master, making each adventure a little bit different than the last. The game is certainly more focused on offence than defence, as your “soldiers” will immediately rush off, with no option to store or stop them. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just makes you change the way you”ll approach each enemy.
Different challenges are unlocked as you progress through the game, such as taking control of a boulder to crush enemies while avoiding yours. There are local leaderboards to keep it competitive, but in the end the three challenges add very little to the game.
For those who enjoyed the Wii version of Swords & Soldiers, you’ll be pleased to know that Wii Remote support hasn’t gone anywhere and you’re perfectly okay to use them. Personally I felt the touch screen controls were much easier to use, but everyone has their own preference. Local multiplayer has one person use Wii Remotes and the TV and the other uses the GamePad, making it a much more pleasant experience.
Local multiplayer is a blast but the lack of an online mode or leaderboards is a missed opportunity. There’s also some missing content that, according to Nintendo Life, will make the jump to Wii U should the game sell appropriately.
For a measly £2.69/$2.99/€2.99, Swords & Soldiers is a small but entertaining RTS that’s sure to distract you for a few hours. Not an outstanding game by any means but it’s more than satisfactory to scratch the itch one might have for a charming RTS game. You might feel the gameplay becoming repetitive but the different classes will mix that up, alongside the cartoony look and loveable humour in the game’s dialogue.
Thank you to Two Tribes for giving me a review code to produce this review.