Game Reviews

Arel Wars 2

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Arel Wars 2
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| Arel Wars 2

The original Arel Wars had some nice ideas, but it was thwarted by poor implementation and a lack of any real depth. Unfortunately, Arel Wars 2, appears not to have learned from these mistakes.

If anything, it's regressed, with the few glimmers of hope that the original game offered now all but smothered under a dirty blanket of in-app purchases and confused, convoluted game mechanics.

There are moments when the lane-based tower defence sparks into life and everything looks like it might be okay, but then you're thwarted by another menu, or another advert, and it all falls apart.

Castle crushers

The game is all about defence and attack. You have a castle and a hero, and you need to smash your opposition's castle. To do this you have units - warriors that you can call up and send down one of the lanes in front of you.

You also have a hero, who's the star of the show, and a lot more powerful than your basic units. However, if you send him out into the wild you leave your castle undefended, which usually results in crushing defeat.

Learning to balance assault and defence is the key to success, and getting the right selection of units, which you pick up throughout the game, can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Lane duck

There are three heroes to choose from, each offering a different story and a different style of play, and there are enough save slots that you can try all of them out. As you progress you can upgrade your hero, your defences, and your units, moulding them into a fierce fighting unit.

The problem is, you have to splash some serious cash before it even looks like you might win a fight, with the freemium model not so much as enticing you to part with your coins as forcing you to at gun point.

The only bright light is a pretty impressive multiplayer component that sees you battling your way up a tower, winning points and prizes as you defeat other people.

Arel Wars 2 tramples on the promise of the original in its pursuit of one of the most oppressive freemium systems out there. There might be a great game here somewhere, but it's almost impossible to find.

Arel Wars 2

A clunky, uninspiring mess, Arel Wars 2 is only saved from the doldrums by an entertaining multiplayer component
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.