Clash of Clans Review

Clash of Clans

Publisher: Supercell Developer: Supercell Platform: iOS Players: MMO Release: 2012 Genre: Action / Real-Time Strategy Rating: 7.9 / 10.0: Satisfactory

Above is an image of an beginning player's village

 

From new developer Supercell comes a fantasy action-strategy app that has since become a mega-hit. The game has you assume the roll of a chief who is tasked with building and managing a village. As soon as you begin the game, you'll engage in a boring tutorial in which you are attacked by goblins and must set up a cannon to defend your village. Then you must engage in an incredibly easy ambush on a goblin outpost. From there, you must build the necessary structures for your village. There are several types of currency: gold, rare dark elixir, and gems. Gold and elixir are the main money, while dark elixir takes awhile to unlock, and gems are the things people use to (sort of) cheat with and then -buy in bulk for just a few bucks. I however, am not a "gemmer", and earn gems fairly. Right away, you're tasked with creating a gold storage, a gold mine, an elixir storage, an elixir collector,  a barrack, and an army camp. The latter two are used for training and housing various troops, which can be used to raid villages all around the world or engage in the optional campaign that has you raid goblin bases. In order to gain a good reputation, you must obtain trophies. To do this, you must attack other players from around the world. There are several leagues. The more trophies you have, the higher your league rank. The higher your rank, the bigger the bonus from an attack. One of the game's best features is the ability to create and join clans-- for a (in-game) price. A clan is a guild of players who can help each other by sharing troops and participating in Clan Wars, two-day turn-based wars between two clans. The clans have one day to prepare, and one day to do as much damage as possible. The clan that receives the most stars (obtained by doing damage), reigns victory, and earns a solid loot bonus. One of the game's nice touches are its impressive cartoony visuals, which bear a unique style. Despite the good features, there are flaws. Some items are overly expensive, and structure building / upgrading yields annoyingly long waits in which you are unable to interact with the structure. This game intentionally tests your patience, which is how Supercell has made millions in gem purchases. If youve spent a fair share of time on the App Store, you're probably very familiar with the free-to-play format, and if you hate it as much as all hardcore gamers, just know that Clash of Clans popularized it. As a result, those who choose not to buy gems will encounter gemmer after gemmer when searching for players to attack in higher leagues. Additionally, it's not uncommon to get raided, and you can lose lots of gold and elixir. Even so, Clash of Clans is an exceptional app, which could be better had It not decided to trick people into spending money.

Ups
Good concept
You can create and join clans
Unique and impressive visuals

Downs
Boring tutorial
Some items are overly expensive
Annoyingly long upgrade waits
Raids can devastate you

ESRB: ??? Content: ??? Price: $0.00 (Download)