Earth and Legend (4 Stars)

Earth And Legend is a really good game and one that shows off the power of the Streak very well.  It is a spiritual sequel to Dvide Arts earlier entry Crusade of Destiny.  Earth And Legend plays very similar to Crusade of Destiny but with a lot of updates that make the game more enjoyable.

First thing you will notice are the graphics as they are very well done.  Lots of detail in the environment and character models.  I was surprised how well the facial graphics are.  It really reminds me of the original Everquest with the graphic updates introduced with the Shadows of Luclin expansion.  The frame rate is very high, I would guess in the 50s as everything is silky smooth. There is a full day/night cycle and weather effects which really add to the experience.  Only some quests or mobs are available at certain times of the day so the time of day is important to finishing quests.  When raining you can both see and hear how hard it is coming down which adds to the atmosphere.

The sound is top notch with great sound effects and a pleasant soundtrack.  There is no voice over which I am thankful for as I have seen many a game hurt themselves because of corny voice acting.  I would rather read the text and leave their voice to my imagination.

There are lots of quests and most just follow in the traditional "fetch" style but there are some that move the story along.  You will be doing a lot of grinding to get your level up so you can continue with the quest but that is the norm in a traditional RPG.  Luckily you have lots of fighting styles you are able to utilize from hand to hand, to archery to magic.  You also are able to train a pet to fight alongside you.

If you are into RPGs then you will enjoy Earth And Legend.  It is fantastic to play on the go and is constructed so you can get in and out quickly and actually make some progress.

Great Little War Game (5 Stars)

Great Little War Game could not possibly be more perfectly titled as this war game is fantastic.  Not since Herzog Zwei on the Sega Genesis have I played a game with simple resource management (take over oil wells to get more funds to spend on troops) that is so much fun.  Let's take a closer look at this fantastic game.

The basis for the game is simple, two generals are battling it out along many different maps.  The game is played in rounds where you can build your army (ground troops, tanks, ships, helicopters etc.), move them along the map and attack if the enemy is within range.  Each round starts with funds being collected from all the oil wells that you control.  There are friendly, neutral and enemy oil wells scattered along the map and utilizing the engineer troop you are able to capture these oil wells which adds extra funds at the beginning of each round.  This is similar to capturing bases in Herzog Zwei and whoever controls the most oil wells have the advantage.  Once you capture an oil well you need to defend it or the enemy will come and take it over from you.  Luckily you have many different options for protected what is yours.

You have four ground troops available to you, all with different fighting styles.  The most basic troop is the Grunt.  He has an attack range of 1 to 2 hexagons and can attack infantry and vehicles but does no damage to airborne or ships.  The next unit is the Bazooka troop who also can only attack for 1 to 2 hexagons but can not attack airborne.  The Engineer is defenseless so you must protect him while he makes his way to enemy or neutral buildings so he can capture them.  The last troop, and the best, is the Sniper.  He can attack up to 3 hexagons away and will "one shot" infantry.  

Using the map to your advantage is important.  On level ground two soldiers of the same class will attack each other for the same amount of damage.  Get your soldier to higher ground and the advantage is yours.  For the island maps soldiers can only exit a carrier in designated landing areas so if you populate all those hexagons with your soldiers then no enemy soldiers can get on your island.  There are many strategies you can use to help you win the maps and experimenting is half the fun.

The visuals in this game are crisp and clean and work great for this style of game.  You can easily identify each class of soldier by their graphics without having to click on them for a description.  The animation is fluid as it should be in a game without non-stop action.  The maps are simple but nicely drawn with weather effects like rain and snow.  When a battle begins in zooms in on the action which is a nice touch.

The sound is minimal but is well done.  Your soldiers will make a snide comment whenever they take out and enemy troop and there is the sound of gun fire when the attacks happen.  The music is decent but I found myself turning it off and just focusing on the battle.  

The controls are fantastic and it is these types of games that work like magic with touch interfaces.  Touch a troop will allow you to target a nearby enemy or show you the make hexagon moves you can make in this round.  Manipulating your troops is easy and intuitive. 

This little war game is great and that makes it the most accurate title in gaming history.  You can pick this up in the App Store for around $2 depending on sales etc.  This game will supply you with hours of battle fun!