Age of Rivals – Review
Follow Genre: Strategy
Developer: Roboto Games
Publisher: Roboto Games
Platforms: PC,
Tested on: PC

Age of Rivals – Review

Site Score
7.5
Good: Quick pick up and play, unique gameplay
Bad: No real story to support longevity
User Score
7.0
(3 votes)
Click to vote
VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 7.0/10 (3 votes cast)

Have you ever played a game where you build an entire civilization and think by yourself: ‘I wish I could do this in only ten minutes.For a concept that easily takes a few hours to work around, Age of Rivals grips the idea strongly and works it out into a fun and quick-to-play card game. When either you want to play against a friend or a computer, challenging gameplay is always present and ensures to have unique matches each time you play.

header age of rivals

Story

You play as one of the many great leaders that are trying to build the biggest and best civilization. Each character has unique, guaranteed cards, fitting for the personality of said leader.This is as much story as there is, the game is a simple pick up and play card game with nothing much to it. You can compare this to a normal card game you play with friends during lunch, no story just gameplay. It would have been an idea to add a good story line,for example in the form of a whole story where each character comes together, or give each character a background with why they want to be the great conquer. This could have drawn the player more into the game and would prolong each sitting instead of just short sessions.

Graphics

As a card game this title has a good mix of graphical qualities. When prompt you can select between six settings that go from fast to fantastic and these settings will vary the use of resources on your PC. The menus are clear and easy to follow and the overall game experience is guideby a user friendly interface. Our cards are well detailed with some lovely artwork and clear descriptions on what everything does. The play area is also crystal clear but will not allow for repositioning of units, this is because the placing has something to do with the effects of some cards.

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Sound

This game is set in a Middle Ages setting and thanks to this it is escorted by periodical correct music. Card movement is accompanied by the right sounds so it gives the feeling that you are playing a real card game. Other sound effects are often there to support the various moves and to bring more color to it all. What is a bit of a downer though is the absence of spoken dialog but this is because there is no story to support it.

Gameplay

Age of Rivals is a card game where you need to build the most successful civilization in only four rounds. Each round is divided into five parts. To be as accurate as possible we will go through each part and tell a little bit about it. The game starts with each faction having 20 gold coins to their disposal and a shared deck of cards. Each character has its own unique ‘guaranteed’ card in the deck, meaning you can select a leader based on play style and have a little advantage. When the game commences you start with the building stage. In this mode you purchase eight cards while keeping in the back of your mind where to invest in. Since there are many rules to follow, if you want to become successful that is, it is always best to have a balanced base.

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With nine different genres of buildable items it can be overwhelming at first but after a few matches you will start to get the hang of things.Attacking cards such as infantry or ranged can help to conquer villages but will offer little to no defense in a counterattack. To keep your city well equipped it is smart to include some resources as well, since materials make it cheaper to buy new stuff this is best purchased upon start. Because you share the deck with your nemesis it is best to sometimes play a bit dirty as you can scrap a card or some even allow for blocking or duplication of such.

When the building is done it is time to start a conquest. Each good leader knows the bigger you are the more power you have,so each round there are three nearby villages that need to be taken over, with each village giving score and gold in the process. A conquest is either won by outnumbering the opponents’ force or by overpowering them. After the spoils of conquest it is time for the war. During wartime you attack each other, the most effective way is by ranged weapons and forts. Forts will defend you from great damage while ranged makes it possible to penetrate those defenses more easily. Then come the infantry and mounted warriors, what makes the game special is that you can choose where the enemy will strike, leaving weaker buildings in your grace or sacrifice them for the greater goods.

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If a card is knocked out it is unusable until the end, when one or more are knocked out one is destroyed while others get regenerated with a one damage penalty. After the war everything settles down for the score, this is where culture and religion steps in. Culture can buff up the score points of various factors while religion is a direct boost. To win the game you must end with a higher score than your opponent. After scoring is done the round will end and the cards on the field will be reshuffled and four will return to your playing field. When returning to the first step you will grab the income you have accumulated and have the ability to buy four more cards. When the second and third rounds are played it goes to endgame. This means that from the sixteen cards you own you now can re-buy eight of them for the final duel. If you are short on funds there is an option to scrap a card for three gold pieces.

Conclusion

Age of Rivals is a fun and fast card game that is easy to pick up and enjoy. Because of the unique combat and scoring system it can be a bit overwhelming at first but the pride and joy you get from winning a match is therefore extra special. With good characters and a different approach towards normal card games this title is best enjoyed as a small break time consumer. With no real intention of longevity it can be a missed opportunity for a full story.

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VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Rating: 7.0/10 (3 votes cast)
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Age of Rivals - Review, 7.0 out of 10 based on 3 ratings
MC_JP


Never give up on a dream. It might be a long nightmare, but one day it will change into a beautiful reality - MC_JP 2014

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