When it comes to gaming on mobile devices, there are two groups: the hardcore and the casual gamer. Our in house gamer Paul Acevedo falls into the former category, where I, your humble Editor, prefer the latter. Gaming for me is something I do for a few minutes here and there, with nary a thought on nailing those achievements.
That’s why Armed Strike, for Windows Phone 7.x and 8, has piqued my interest. It reminds me of the classic game ‘1942’ but updated for 2013. For one, it scrolls to the side (instead of up) and the graphics are quite tantalizing. It’s also that whole World War II plane thing, though it doesn’t look like you can do a flying loop.
The game play is straightforward: you’re a pilot in WWII taking on the Germans and Japanese. Move your aircraft around oncoming bombers, blow up blimps for power-ups and unlock secret weapons. Later you hop into a boat to change up the experience! Honestly, what more do you need? (Make sure you watch the video trailer above to see it in action).
At the end of each campaign you take on a Boss, usually some large imposing aircraft and because you have four difficulty settings, nothing is too hard to beat. At the end of the stage, there’s a little info card on the Boss you just fought, including real info on the plane. It’s a nice touch.
The game is surprisingly smooth after a recent 1.1 update, addressing some control and loading issues. I have no complaints in that regard, though everyone has their ideal sweet spot for virtual joysticks.
But really, it’s the graphics, including pretty sweet explosions and highly detailed backgrounds that we enjoy. The music isn’t too bad either, especially when fighting a boss, as it makes the scene feel a tad more epic. Other features include:
- 10 great missions
- 5 different player´s entities
- 10 end level bosses
- Over 40 different kinds of enemies in the air, on land and water
- Additional bonus missions, new bosses, player entities and enemies in free updates!
- Upgrades and special weapons
- Campaign mode (from the beginning of the war till the end)
- Replay mission mode (you can play your favorite mission whenever you want or just improve your score, skills or your pilot´s career)
- Large achievements system
- Career promotion (from the Airman to the General)
- On-line score and 46 achievements, you can compare your score with your friends on different platforms!
The game now comes in two varieties: Paid (with free trial) or Free (with ads). What’s neat though is the developer added a 99 cent in-app purchase to the free, ad supported version in case you like it so much that you want to unlock it and remove those ads. It’s a great idea and keeps things simple.
Armed Strike, either free or the modest 99 cents, is a fun, classic arcade style game. It should keep the occasional gamer happy in addition to the more dedicated gamers in the crowd. It's get my Editor's Choice nod because it's quite impressive, especially for a dollar.
The game is available on iOS and Windows Phone, but not Android at the moment, which is a nice twist. A Windows 8/RT version is also on the way.
Armed Strike Paid ($0.99 with trial) here or the new Armed Strike Free here (with ads, IAP to unlock); Windows Phone 7.x and 8 supported
