Developer: Gamious
Publisher: Gamious
Platform: PC, iPad
Tested on: PC
Turmoil: The Heat is On DLC – Review
If you want to uncover the secrets the land has to offer, you may as well look into the newest DLC pack for Turmoil: The Heat is On. In this simulation strategy game, you’ll find yourself digging for oil in 19th century America whilst trying not to go bankrupt. Will you become the next oil tycoon?
Story
Turmoil is a simple strategy simulation with plenty of actions to take but it lacks a storyline forming the backbone. The new DLC pack The Heat is On offers an entirely new campaign in which you can talk to the town cat that roams around but an actual adventure is missing.
However, this doesn’t mean the game completely lacks narration as the build-up of the town comes with some introductions of the buildings, offering a slight insight of the townspeople and the purposes of the items they are selling.
Graphics
It’s been two years since the release of the base game, but the aesthetic of the game has remained unchanged, continuing the trend of being simple and clean. Every pixel in every sprite is detailed and even the animations of the running workhorses, the pumping of the oil wells and the release of gas amongst other things is transitioning smoothly.
Every aspect of the game, from the game text to the underground objects to the town buildings and character portraits are enveloped in a rustic allure, a perfect setting for a budding oil tycoon.
Sound
The ambiance music in Turmoil is quite good, despite it being a guitar-like loop. It doesn’t become annoying after hearing it a tenth time whilst it can get stuck in your head rather easily. The same can be said for the sound effects. The pumping of the oil can become a ticking clock for those with a sensitive hearing but all-in-all, the audio doesn’t disappoint. For the most part, the sound effects are there to help you become aware of threats, such as lava heating up the pipes or the drill hitting stone.
Gameplay
Since Turmoil is an oil tycoon simulation game, you’ll be drilling the lands in search for black gold for the most part. Becoming successful is purely strategic, and part luck, but the game does an excellent job at explaining the basics, so you can get drilling as soon as possible.
At first, you’ll only have the primitive but essential items available to you but when you start making profit, you can spend your hard-earned money on new methods and techniques that will aid you in your search for oil, gas and magna pockets. The latter is a new addition to the game. Once you locate a pocket, you can build a steampunk version of an oil well. With the intuitive click and drag feature, you create a path for your drill to follow.
When the oil rig is doing its thing, you’ll have two options: store the oil or sell it to one of the two companies with varying prices that constantly fluctuate. For both options you’ll need to have workhorses available to transport and ferry the oil back and forth. Hitting a gas pocket can become dangerous as it can result in oil spillage, for which you’ll receive a heavy fine. You can use it to your advantage by connecting the gas pocket to Left Inc. or Right Inc. and increase the price. Magma on the other hand will heat up your pipes, causing the oil to rapidly go above ground.
The further you advance in the campaign, the more challenges you’ll face, and the new upgrades can really help further advancement. Aside from the four previous townspeople Raynor, Edward, Fred and William, new characters and buildings are introduced in The Heat is On: Methods for Magma, Maeve’s and Anthony’s Underground. Methods for Magma is self-explanatory as it features upgrades for the usage of magma pockets. Maeve’s is an inn, with all sorts of shady things going. You can bribe one of the companies, so their prices don’t drop below a certain amount for the next year or you can pay a visit to a banker promising to reduce the interest rates on your loans. Or you could just play Higher Lower. Anthony is a character from the base game, but he now has his own store where you can sell and buy all sorts of underground treasures such as golden nuggets and silver ore. The most important building in town is the Mayor’s Office as this is where you will be bidding for land. It’s a new mayor though, so he uses a different auction system.
Your competitors are three AI bots, whom you should not underestimate if you’re only starting out. For veterans these bots may not be the biggest threat this game has to offer but the new mechanics will surely challenge their old tactics.
Conclusion
On its own, Turmoil is a simple but fun game that you can play at any time. The addition of a new campaign featuring three new areas, a new substance and new buildings, upgrades and collectibles, makes The Heat is On a great DLC pack for a fairly reasonable price.
Turmoil: The Heat is On DLC – Review,
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