(as of 23/12/15) I don't normally bother posting reviews, would rather spend the time actually gaming. This is the first one I'm posting, as I don't think the game deserves less than a "positive" overall opinion. My perspective comes from having always enjoyed CCGs and TBS, since earlier days of e.g. Magic: The Gathering and Final Fantasy Tactics/Fire Emblem. Naturally, I was excited to see a game marrying both elements (not that it's the first out there), and I've been playing C&C for months now on mobile. So what's kept me playing, and why should you play, or not play it? ART: YMMV. The game goes for a particular cartoonish art style, which you'll like or dislike instantly - just see the screenshots. Clear differences between the 5 factions. If you appreciate the style, the art and animation are excellent. If not, perhaps the game isn't for you. However, there's no reason to diss the graphics as terrible; contemporaneous CCG-type games such as Hearthstone or Card Hunter have totally different art styles which are equally attractive. In comparison, I don't like how March of War looks - it's all personal taste. MUSIC: ...adequate for the genre - i.e. turn off in favour of your own music after 1 hour. GAMEPLAY: 5 factions, which you may choose to play solo, or combine with another faction (e.g. crusader/warlock or warlock/pirate) for a total of 15 different combinations. Playing solo factions gains you access to powerful faction-specific "hero" cards, while including a 2nd faction obviously provides versatility. Factions are distinct with their own playstyle, and quite well-balanced (especially after recent changes to pirates). Also, all deck types are viable - aggro, midrange, control, ramp, whatever type your fevered mind can dream up. P2WIN-NESS: The obvious bugbear for some. If you're looking to gain a significant collection without putting in any effort, I would suggest against playing any digital CCG-based game. What some people may be sore about is facing players with many epics/legendaries and getting stomped. Do realise - the game has been out on mobile for > 1 year, and many players have near-complete collections. However, many of them haven't paid significant amounts of real $$, and you're getting stomped as they know the game better than you do, not because their cards are significantly better than yours. The question is, can you compete as a new player? It's entirely possible with mostly common/uncommon cards, with a smattering of rares. Legendaries are limited to 1 copy each/deck (used to be up to the normal 2 copies/deck until a couple of months ago), which helps to limit their use. Overall, no better or worse than Hearthstone (which seems to be the benchmark, after all) in this aspect. Finally, no gameplay element is locked behind a real $$ paywall, only cosmetic stuff (e.g. different castle looks) or more deck slots (>9). ACCESSIBILITY: Big one for me - the ability to play asynchronous games, which is what I wish Hearthstone had. Not as relevant to the desktop gamer, but hey - you can play on your desktop, and continue to play in short bursts on the go on mobile. CAVEATS: I decided against putting in a "Pros" section - I've covered most of the points above. Let the game speak for itself, it's free to try now anyway. However, some caveats are as follows, especially if you're considering putting in real $$. - As some have pointed out, it's harder to craft epics/legendaries in C&C compared to e.g. Hearthstone. The cost for those was increased a couple of months ago, ostensibly so that crafting them would be harder and actually getting one would be more exciting. ...Whatever the reason, do note that it won't be easy to obtain epics/legendaries without spending at least a little $$. - Smaller card pool. Currently, the card pool is in no way comparable to e.g. Hearthstone, even vanilla Hearthstone from way back. I don't feel like there's a lack of variety even after 4-5 months or so of playing, but it's just something to keep in mind. There's an expansion (Age of Dragons) coming up Jan 2016, which will help shake things up. - Grindiness. The gold (non-premium currency) earning rate was nerfed, and coupled with the high cost of crafting epics/legendaries, you may feel pushed to spend just to get the juicy looking epics/legendaries. That said, as mentioned above - you can compete (in a fair fashion) using common/uncommon/rare cards. Some figures for the current state of the game - 1 quest per day (generally 800-1200 gold), average of 15-50 gold/win, 1 booster costs 2000 gold ---> 1 booster every 2 days (or slightly less, depending on how much you play). Whether or not you think it's worth your time, you decide. - Fluidity. The game has had more significant card/balance changes since its mobile launch days than e.g. Hearthstone, including some changes (e.g. to ranged units, or to many pirates cards) which happened even after the devs posted that they were done with significant changes to gameplay (after the 2.0 update on mobile). While the changes have been beneficial for game balance and shows that the devs are responsive, C&C does not (and may never have) have the stability/polish that the big players (e.g. Hearthstone or MTG) exhibit. To their credit, it's rather hard to match the big boys when you're a small developer with a small team. Anyway, be prepared that what you like/don't like about certain cards/factions can change (sometimes suddenly). - Fluctuating business model. Let's just say that changes in costs (both upwards/downwards) for many things (crafting, boosters, the recent "wing-based" expansion, draft tournaments) have made some unhappy. While I would not call out the developers for greed/making the game P2W, they're experimenting as they go, so prices may not be as stable as some would like (definitely not as stable as e.g. Hearthstone). Be prepared before you spend any $$ (although, the premium currency prices have not changed at all since I started playing - what's changed is the costs of what you can buy with it). TL;DR: - All things considered, C&C has lots of charm, and a good degree of game balance/variation. It scratches my itch for a TBS/CCG mashup and isn't overly complex. Furthermore, there are many potential mechanics yet to be explored, so the game has lots of room to grow. - The best testament: I stopped playing Hearthstone. I still play C&C. - Don't want to get stomped by the pros? Join now! Since it's recently out of early access, more new players will be flooding in. This is the best time to fumble around together :)
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