BATTLEFORGE is a brilliant, online only Real-Time Strategy Game (RTS) set in the Fantasy world of NYN.
Players assume the role of mighty Skylords in command of vast armies, their main goal being the destruction of all enemy forces on the map or, in campaign games at least, also assisting computer-controlled allied troops throughout a series of challenging missions.
All playable forces are composed from a series of cards, much like in a Collectable-Card-Game (CCG) which comprise of four different Deck types - Fire, Nature, Shadow and Frost. Each card depicts either military units (archers, infantry, creatures etc), buildings (such as battle towers) and offensive or defensive spells.
Players choose cards from any deck to for their unique army - up to a maximum of twenty - and during the game they can be conjured directly onto the battlefield. Each card needs a certain amount of power to play, but precious Power Wells can be found and used to increase further the constantly increasing amount of power received. Monuments can also be created, too, and these produce Orbs that determine which Deck types can be used. Building a Fire Orb, for instance, allows Fire cards to be brought into battle but the more powerful cards may require several such Orbs to be constructed first!
The game itself is a very fast, easy to play RTS thanks largely to the fact that there is no laborious resource gathering as such. Once the relevant power points are created by the Power Wells, cards can be played immediately even while the army is on the march or in battle. Each new card - except buildings and spells - has a small period where it is confused upon casting and is temporarily at half strength and therefore vulnerable to attack, but the AI is very good and units will defend themselves and each other when assaulted by enemies. Archers will attempt to knock out enemies from range while units which can heal allied troops (such as the SHAMAN) will strive to keep the troops alive just that bit longer.
Winning victories gains various benefits which can be used to upgrade existing cards to make them more powerful in combat, as well as purchasing new additions to the card collection via random Booster Packs. This edition contains 200 set cards over the four Decks but regular online updates iron out any gameplay problems and sometimes even adds new cards, too.
There is a bustling online community where players can play with or against each other, trade their cards via auction or simply chat.
Some players may find BATTLEFORGE repetitive due to its very nature, but it is very addictive and great fun. Despite being quite simple to play there are plenty of strategies to explore with all the different cards and upgrading them becomes a nice achievement. Like all online games it is constantly evolving and expanding. Fans of strategy games will surely be in their element here!