Review: RISK: The Official Game - App Store Domination?
by Staff Writer
July 28, 2010
Overview
The official licensed version of Risk from EA through Hasbro has arrived in the App Store. Go for world domination in the classic board game clone now on your iPhone. The game features the classic world map where you initiate battles and roll dice to see who is victorious as you battle multiple opponents.
Features
There is really one game mode which is classic Risk, and you can play against up to five computer opponents each with their own personalities and strategies, and there are three difficulties. Every round of the game has you draft new units, attack other units, and fortify your existing units in three distinct phases. There is also multiplayer allowing you to play with five others on the same device or three others over WiFi or Bluetooth.The Good
Risk is a methodical game that has a traditionally lurching pace that is all about strategy. It can be complex for newcomers, but still always offers a new challenge for veterans because every game unfolds differently depending on where you begin, how you react, and how opponents act. This incarnation of Risk is more geared towards the novice players making it simpler to get started, understand the basic mechanics, and learn to succeed.
The game is set up so each stage is distinctly presented, and every action is boiled down to a couple choices that are easy to do. Anyone will soon be conquering the world, and you can build up your skills on easy mode and work your way up through the difficulties. EA chose to make Risk as basic as can be, but there is plenty of challenge to be had when playing against five hard computer opponents.
Every single move you make in Risk requires some thought, and depending on where your units are dished out with automatic game set-up makes all the difference. Then you get to choose where and how many units to deploy, and then choose who to attack, and how long to stay on the offensive. The worst thing can be gaining new ground only to have your overall contingent too weak to be taken over by another player on their turn.
EA has done a good job in making this game friendly to the masses which can't be said for the other clones in the App Store. This is one game that can really appeal to families which never thought of Risk as an appealing choice. This idea makes the multiplayer an essential aspect and a good idea to have it set up well for same device and local play over WiFi and Bluetooth.
The complex gameplay is streamlined to be conducted with a one track mind, and rather quickly. You can get through your turn as fast as you want, and can choose to watch your opponents’ turns or skip them, and be right back to your turn with a new board layout. There is only one map though you know it backwards and forwards and can still get good replay because the initial board set-up is always different.
The classic game of Risk has been updated in the visuals department by providing deluxe battle animations. The entire game has a modern look, and then there is the various tank and ground troop artwork coupled with dice battle bomb blasts that really shine on the iPhone. There is a nice soundtrack that plays in the menus, but slowly dissipates from the game leaving you only the sound effects, but those are good as well.
The Bad
The game is set up well, but in actual execution there are some definite problems. The biggest problem is the attack system which uses the traditional dice, but the randomization simply doesn't seem to be there. Also there is no advantage in having more units because if they only have one dice only your first dice is counted so there seems to be no point and showing the other two dice rolls.
It seems the harder difficulties only skew the random dice rolls less in your favor. If that wasn't problem enough the card system is even odder as there is no way to keep track of it until all of a sudden it appears for you. The same can happen for opponents, and then you lose all your holdings in a continent because they got a troop boost that there was no indication of which you usually have in the physical board game.
Risk is a unique board game that offers plenty of challenge by requiring plenty of strategy, but it's a style that can be easily cloned. There are many better clones in the App Store than the official game from EA. The biggest thing they have that the official version doesn't is online multiplayer.
EA has yet to incorporate it well in any of their games, and it really helps a game like Risk. Turn based strategy games can and do benefit using push notifications in iOS, and it's what makes clones superior to EA's version. Clones also feature different maps, and more customization.
