For hardcore fans of the RTS gaming genre, Red Conquest was a highly anticipated release. For the people who’ve played Blue Defense, and Blue Attack, expectations were high for Red Conquest in following in the “Blue” games’ footsteps. With the bar set pretty high, gamers itching for a chance to try this one out, does Red Conquest deliver? Does it appease the fans that waited so eagerly for it’s release? Onward to the review!
Red Conquest is a real-time strategy game, set in open space. Experience the intergalactic war between the Blue and Red forces like never before. In this amazingly deep game, you take command of your fleet with a user interface designed specifically for our handheld devices. Casual players of RTS games will appreciate the ease of managing their units with simple multi-touch controls, while RTS veterans will fall in love with the variety of advanced macro- and micromanagement options for tactical warfare.
For first time players of the RTS genre, it’s hard for me to recommend this game because it’s so extremely complicated with all it’s directions. I mean, heck, just grasping the concept of an RTS game is hard enough but throw in Red Conquest’s multi-touch menu navigation and interface and some will be completely lost. Even for a guy like me who has played at least a few RTS games like Command and Conquer, I still found myself a little lost. The massive learning curve in the beginning is so gosh darn intimidating that I fear that some gamers will immediately cower away and they would be missing out.
Some gripes along with the tutorial issue was that it’s hard to tell what’s going on at times. Your “friendly” units look like crabs and when you are forced to attack the enemy units, it’s hard to tell whether you are winning the battle or getting beaten down. This may sound like a huge major issue but once you get used to the gameplay, things get better. There’s a strategy guide thread via online and watching some video guides will help clarify the game so much. However, once you get the hang of every single aspect of the game, Red Conquest becomes extraordinarily rewarding and entertaining. Once you get past the confusion and the muddled tutorial, the game becomes an exciting experience thanks to the magnificent visuals and incredible depth.
The multi-touch function of the menu interface is a sweet touch and will work to perfection once you get the hang of it. Most of RTS games are tap and drag and the same works here. This might be one of the few games to have the “multi-touch” feature and it works to perfection
Maneuvering your units around is simple. With one tap on the unit, it brings up a menu and you can choose whether you want to move him to a certain point or build something etc. Like we mentioned earlier, mastering the controls will take some time. After tinkering around with the app for a while, soon you will be initiating group commands and strategic maneuvering with no problem. The only gripe I had here was the menu interface was a little cluttered and it’s hard at times to maneuver around the menu.
What We Liked:
+ Amazingly fun once you get used to it + Enormous depth + Awesome visuals + Various modes (Campaign, Challenge and Local Multiplayer) + Convenient and responsive multi-touch feature + Save state and auto save
What We Disliked:
– Slightly steep price tag ($3.99) –- No internet multiplayer (coming soon!) –- Too complicated for the non-RTS gamer –- Guide and tutorial interface muddled –- Cutscenes are forgettable and sloppily animated –- Hard to tell units apart from each other
It would’ve been nice to have an RTS app that caters to both the casual and the hardcore RTS gamer, but maybe that’s not what the game developer had in mind. What we have in Red Conquest is a massive RTS strategy game that’s polished and complete with marvelous visuals and solid gameplay. But there’s the trickiest part of this app. I can only recommend this app to veteran hardcore RTS gamers because the tutorial is so intense and the gameplay gets so complicated that many casual gamers will be simply overwhelmed. If you’re not sure whether you are under the casual or hardcore category, maybe you should wait for a LIte version and see for yourself. A wonderful game this is and it is tantalizing for action/adventure RTS lovers, but be wary. This is not for amateurs.
Well this was nice to read, perhaps I will come back later and read more of this stuff!
Looks interesting. I’m trying to get into the RTS genre, but it’s a bit of a slow process. I’m not quite sure what’s happening, even when I watch the video. I’m gonna have to pass for now, but I’ll keep an eye on it.
I realized I was a novice at RTS games when hkiphone schooled me over and over again in Uniwar. Ever since, I’ve come to the sad realization that I basically suck at RTS games. Thanks hkiphone for ruining the genre for me! Hope you can sleep at night…
This does look pretty intense though, but since it’s for the hardcore as per the review, I’m out…
I’m not very good at this type of game either so I think I’ll skip this one too.
$3.99 as the price is not a valid negative in my book. The game has enough content to support it.
Great review Daniel! Can’t believe you got to it before I did!
Well actually, I did buy it as soon as it was released, but on hearing some first impressions that it was a really deep RTS, I kept saying “I’ll keep it for a time when I have more time”…. needless to say, I never did! Will give it a go later this afternoon!
Apparently its a prequel to explain why the reds keep assaulting the blues.
If you want a more immediate game, I recommend Blue Defense. Pure arcade game like Space Invaders, you directing your gun by rotating your iPod! Very good.
Blue Attack is a little more complex, with you able to upgrade either your own plane with weapons, features like boosts n bombs, or add a wingman to your squadron.