I gave Rad Soldiers a whirl this weekend and it definately scratched an itch.
The bullet points:
* Developed by Splash Damage.
* Free-to-play with microtransactions (economy of coins, earned exclusively in game, and RAD bucks that are earned or purchased; most items can be bought with either/or.)
* Single player and online multiplayer; can have many games active at once.
* iOS, Android, and Chrome cross play.
The best way to summarize the game:
* Turn based tactical squad shooter similar to Frozen Synapse, Jagged Alliance, or Xcom.
* Top down grid playfields similar to Bomberman.
* Colorfully cartoony class based shooter design of Team Fortess 2.
Gameplay:
* Squad Based. Squad sizes vary from 14pt, 20pt, and 26pt team sizes. Equiped weapons dictate point per character (e.g. a pistol is 4pts; a chainsaw may be 7 points).
* Classes. Medics, Engineers, Commandos, Captains, and Agents. Different classes can get different weapons.
* Turn. Each player gets a turn where all their moves are "active" (not preplanned like Forzen Synapse). During a turn each character can move, fire, or deploy a special ability. Characters have a set "Energy" level of which moving, firing, and specials consume. For Commandos you get 12 units and each square you move is 1 unit. A heavier class may get 18 units but consumes 3 units per square moved. A large weapon may require 6 units to fire so in situations without movement a heavy could fire 3 times versus 2 by the commando.
* Rewind and Turn End. Throughout your turn you can rewind your moves to maximize your plan. Once you are satisified with your plan you end your turn. At which point your enemy takes their turn. If the opponent is a human they are sent a challenge if it is the first round or sent a notice it is their turn.
* Multiple games at once. As you have to wait for the opponent to take their turn you can start another game--even against the same opponent.
* Special Abilities. Each class has at least one special abilities. Grenades, mobile cover, turrets, invisibility, etc.
* Captain Abilities. Your prime character has unique abilities you can swap in and out. Each game has a fixed number of Captain abilities points (2, 4, 6, etc.) so in some rounds you may only have 1 ability. Other rounds 3 or more. These abilities include health kits, air strikes, deployable cover, etc.
* Objective. To win you must either eliminate the opponent or hold the "rocket zone" for 5 rounds. (FYI: the rocket zone is a little hashed rectangle in the general area--the game does not explain this well.)
Comments:
The game's tutorial and documentation is bone thin. Finding out the nuances between green, yellow, and red cover should be explicit. Explaining that un-used energy points can be used for return fire should be emphasized. The capture grid should be made more obvious. The lack of a list of soldiers and traits and weapons and traits is annoying as you must cycle through characters and weapons which can only be seen individuals and not compared. Logging in/out is a pain if you want another user to hop in on the same machine.
The game is also missinge additional objective modes and there is no option for "Fog of war." A more clear "defend" option to take up stronger cover/focus on return fire on enemies moving in open space would have been a nice twist for depth.
Overall Rad Soldiers is fun. Both my sons picked it up quickly and enjoyed the game. It does allow you to test characters so you can get a sense of them before spending game money on them.
Beginning funds are quick to obtain but the game is a grind after that although it seems most characters and weapons can be unlocked through play (some extra levels may be pay only). Single player would be a quick diversion but multiplayer offers some value for those looking for an easy to pick up and more thoughtful and tactical game than most casual games.
The bullet points:
* Developed by Splash Damage.
* Free-to-play with microtransactions (economy of coins, earned exclusively in game, and RAD bucks that are earned or purchased; most items can be bought with either/or.)
* Single player and online multiplayer; can have many games active at once.
* iOS, Android, and Chrome cross play.
The best way to summarize the game:
* Turn based tactical squad shooter similar to Frozen Synapse, Jagged Alliance, or Xcom.
* Top down grid playfields similar to Bomberman.
* Colorfully cartoony class based shooter design of Team Fortess 2.
Gameplay:
* Squad Based. Squad sizes vary from 14pt, 20pt, and 26pt team sizes. Equiped weapons dictate point per character (e.g. a pistol is 4pts; a chainsaw may be 7 points).
* Classes. Medics, Engineers, Commandos, Captains, and Agents. Different classes can get different weapons.
* Turn. Each player gets a turn where all their moves are "active" (not preplanned like Forzen Synapse). During a turn each character can move, fire, or deploy a special ability. Characters have a set "Energy" level of which moving, firing, and specials consume. For Commandos you get 12 units and each square you move is 1 unit. A heavier class may get 18 units but consumes 3 units per square moved. A large weapon may require 6 units to fire so in situations without movement a heavy could fire 3 times versus 2 by the commando.
* Rewind and Turn End. Throughout your turn you can rewind your moves to maximize your plan. Once you are satisified with your plan you end your turn. At which point your enemy takes their turn. If the opponent is a human they are sent a challenge if it is the first round or sent a notice it is their turn.
* Multiple games at once. As you have to wait for the opponent to take their turn you can start another game--even against the same opponent.
* Special Abilities. Each class has at least one special abilities. Grenades, mobile cover, turrets, invisibility, etc.
* Captain Abilities. Your prime character has unique abilities you can swap in and out. Each game has a fixed number of Captain abilities points (2, 4, 6, etc.) so in some rounds you may only have 1 ability. Other rounds 3 or more. These abilities include health kits, air strikes, deployable cover, etc.
* Objective. To win you must either eliminate the opponent or hold the "rocket zone" for 5 rounds. (FYI: the rocket zone is a little hashed rectangle in the general area--the game does not explain this well.)
Comments:
The game's tutorial and documentation is bone thin. Finding out the nuances between green, yellow, and red cover should be explicit. Explaining that un-used energy points can be used for return fire should be emphasized. The capture grid should be made more obvious. The lack of a list of soldiers and traits and weapons and traits is annoying as you must cycle through characters and weapons which can only be seen individuals and not compared. Logging in/out is a pain if you want another user to hop in on the same machine.
The game is also missinge additional objective modes and there is no option for "Fog of war." A more clear "defend" option to take up stronger cover/focus on return fire on enemies moving in open space would have been a nice twist for depth.
Overall Rad Soldiers is fun. Both my sons picked it up quickly and enjoyed the game. It does allow you to test characters so you can get a sense of them before spending game money on them.
Beginning funds are quick to obtain but the game is a grind after that although it seems most characters and weapons can be unlocked through play (some extra levels may be pay only). Single player would be a quick diversion but multiplayer offers some value for those looking for an easy to pick up and more thoughtful and tactical game than most casual games.
