Review: Cube Tactics 3DS
Fierce enemies roam the land of cubes, protecting their core and bringing their opponents to mercy. Begin your training with Sir Knight as you take to becoming a Cube Master to tackle these lethal enemies in this strategic and tactical war-game with cubes.
Pros:
- Cutesy graphics with some big bright cube graphics. Looks a lot better with 3D on and with the way in which the world is displayed, 3D make it pop.
- Controls are easy after an initial adjustment. Using the d pad with a bumper button will adjust the view and spin the map around whilst buttons will deploy cubes. The d pad is used to navigate the land and placement of cubes.
- Game is very much a tower defense strategy game of sorts. Protect your core and attack the enemy and destroy theirs. You do this by building barracks to train soldier who run off and fight.
- Build 4 barracks together to make a stronger building called a fort which will build stronger soldiers.
- Cube placement is key and you need to choose where the cube faces as this is the way in which soldiers deploy and attack.
- Unlock new cubes with new powers as you progress through the story mode. New units like archers, cannons and fences are a few.
- Has online multiplayer and is solid for the most part but the online community is very quiet.
- Completing a level gives a score breakdown and awards medals. Medals mean more unlocks.
- Huge detailed tutorial section broken up into parts.Each part will focus on a particular skill or power up.
- 25 single player missions to play through, each getting progressively harder.
- After finishing story mode you can unlock a mode where the AI will have to build their bases from scratch, This is where you will play the game the most as its a proper balanced game field.
- All cubes carry a power usage limit. Bigger and better cubes will use more power. To regen your power bar you have to just sit still and let it rack back up.
- Online leaderboards so you can see how you fare against the rest of the world.
- Cheap price point coupled with a small file download size.
- Every game can be different depending on how you attack it, You may well struggle to see any huge AI differentiation but it can happen.
Cons:
- The game is horribly unbalanced, evidence being in the story mode, AI troops will just instantly swarm you before you know whats what. They get to use blocks/landscapes that you cannot.
- Along with the balancing is the fact that it just feels like no skill is actually needed. Just whack everything you have down, then watch. 9 times out of 10 you will win the level. You will get more frustrated and probably lose more if you put too much thought into tactics.
- The game teaches you so many things to do in battle which is great but on that note the game will also go back on its own rules, All in the name of them winning and always having the edge over you.
- The story and characters are instantly forgettable.
In Summary, Its a cheap small game and does have a lot of great ideas. It also has a lot of bad ideas like the AI having everything and then just straight up steam rolling you to victory. But thats not to say the game is one to totally avoid. Look past its short comings and beat the campaign and the game then becomes fun again. The mode that unlocks after all story levels are finished is the mode that should be there from day one. AI and you both with nothing and have to build your own bases, this is how a game like this should be done. Or at least if the AI do have a pre built base, at least give us time to sort out a plan and scour the land for weakness or opportunity. If you have friends who have it then the game will benefit from it. At least you know its an even playing field. I would ignore the strategy part of the description and treat it as a bite sized swarm the enemy,build loads of bases attack a thon trype game and then you will know the score. In short, beat the main game and fun can and will be had!