PC
Published by Robot Entertainment
Developed by Robot Entertainment
One of the better strategy games on the iOS
platforms is a game called Hero Academy. Taking place on a 9x5 grid the
gameplay is almost a chess-like experience that is both fun and
addictive. The iOS version of the game is free although there are in-app
purchases that will give you additional teams, avatars and team colours.
Hero Academy’s transition to the PC has been a smooth one and the game
is just as enjoyable. In fact the only fly in the ointment is that it’s
significantly more expensive than on iOS.
At its heart, Hero Academy is a simplistic
game with a gentle learning curve. The objective in Hero Academy is
simple with the idea being to eliminate your enemy’s units or to smash
their crystals. The turn-based battles take place on a 9x5 grid which is
made up of normal and premium squares. The premium squares confer boosts
on the units which stand on them and making effect use of them can
really make the difference in a tough battle.
You’ll begin a battle with some of your units
already deployed on the battle grid and with additional units ready to
be bought into play from the rack at the bottom of the grid. On this
rack you’ll also find armour, weapons and spells, which can be placed
directly on to the battle grid. Armour and weapons can be placed on
appropriate characters to boost their stats and make them more effective
fighters. What you have to consider in Hero Academy is that you have
five action points per turn and that every action consumes one point.
Should you want to you can use all of your action points with just one
character if you feel that’s the most effective way to go on any
particular turn. As a result you have more freedom than you would in
most turn-based strategy games where you can only perform one or two
actions per unit. It should also be noted that it’s not enough to simply
knock an enemy out. Should you leave an enemy in a fallen state it’s
possible that they can be revived and bought back into the action. To
remove them from the battlefield you’ll need to place your unit on the
fallen enemy’s square to ‘stomp’ on them.
What I really like about Hero Academy is
whilst the base game itself doesn’t have a lot of depth, each of the
teams you can play as all have their own unique abilities and allow you
to play the game in many different ways. The Council team offers up
pretty much standard units with an archer, knight and wizard etc., but
when you look at the other teams it becomes much more interesting. For
instance, the Wraith unit, who is part of the Dark Elves team, can gain
an increase in his maximum health and power by draining fallen units.
Initially he’s not that strong a character but after draining a few
characters he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Each team puts a different angle on the game
then and naturally this means that when you choose a different team to
play as there’s a learning curve to surmount. Thankfully this is where
the single-player challenges, there are around seven challenges for each
team, come in as they force you to make use of the abilities of the
different characters that each team consists of. The only problem is of
course that the challenges won’t take you long to complete and aside
from the tutorials, that’s all there is for the single-player
experience.
Of course the primary focus of Hero Academy
is its multiplayer action and if a multiplayer experience is what you’re
after you’ll definitely see the game in a much more positive light. As
mentioned earlier, you have the ability to not only play against fellow
PC gamers but also to take on the many who have access to the iOS
versions of the game. The multiplayer experience is reminiscent of a
play-by-email chess game with one player taking their turn and then
forwarding it to their opponent who can log in at any time, review the
turn just taken and then make their own moves before sending the results
to their opponent. It all works very nicely with my only complaint being
that it appears to take up to a few minutes for the player on the iOS
platform to receive the results whereas it’s pretty much instant on a
PC. Naturally if you’re playing the game over a long period of time this
isn’t a problem however. On the PC side you can have the game minimised
and a pop-up notification will inform you that it’s your turn to play
which means you can play the game whilst keeping yourself busy with
other things.
I mentioned in the opening paragraph that
Hero Academy on the PC is a significantly more expensive experience than
it is on iOS. The base game when purchased from Steam gives you access
to The Council and Team Fortress 2 teams and costs £3.99. The three
additional teams can be purchased for £3.99 each and you can also pay
99p to unlock the ability to customise your team’s colours. If you want
everything to begin with you can get the whole package for £11.99 which
offers a fair saving on buying everything separately. Of course this
doesn’t change the fact that the game is disappointingly more expensive
than the iOS versions. However, you aren’t subjected to the annoying
adverts that occur between turns here like the iOS versions and in many
respects it’s worth paying the extra to not be continually subjected to
these.
Hero Academy’s presentation is fine although
the PC version is pretty much identical to the iOS versions of the game.
Whilst this may be a disappointment to some it has to be said that the
game looks more than good enough and the cartoon-style visuals are
totally appropriate for the nature of the game. The simplistic visual
style also means that almost all working PCs out there won’t have any
problems running the game which has to be a good thing. Hero Academy is
absolutely fine for deaf gamers. On loading the game you’ll have the
option of taking a tutorial and all of the instructions for the eight
small tutorials are given in text. All of the instructions for the
challenges are given in text too meaning you’re always aware of what
needs to be done. Naturally with the multiplayer games being
asynchronous, the game supports text chat so there are no communication
problems between you and your opponent. In short the game presents no
accessibility problems for deaf gamers.
If you’re looking for a lightweight, turn-based strategy title to play online Hero Academy is certainly a game that’s worth considering. Compared to the iOS versions of the game it seems a little expensive but then you’re not being subjected to the annoying adverts that get in the way on the iOS version and I for one would rather play the PC version simply on that basis. The core gameplay is solid and the multiplayer games are enjoyable. Being able to play against someone with the iOS version of the game is a real bonus and means you’ll almost always have plenty of opponents to challenge. It’s a shame that there wasn’t more single-player content here but as a multiplayer experience it is enjoyable and well thought out. I really appreciate the way the different teams you can purchase make the game feel sufficiently different and open up different tactical options. In short, Hero Academy is well worth a look.
