Game Reviews

Jungle Heat

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Jungle Heat
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This is a freemium game review, in which we give our impressions immediately after booting a game up, again after three days, and finally after seven days. That's what the strange sub-headings are all about. Click on the link to jump straight to day three or day seven.

Not wishing to start proceedings in a crass way, but I'm pretty sure "jungle heat" is slang for a particularly nasty STD.

Whatever, this game's title doesn't exactly give much away. After further investigation (I read the App Store description), it turns out Jungle Heat is a "military strategy management game".

Judging by the game's screenshots, one of which features a dress on a military lady that leaves nothing to the imagination, this game's a bit sexy, too. How exciting!

Enough with the speculation: there's some games criticism to be done.

First impressions

I've figured out the most likely reason for Jungle Heat's odd title: the text doesn't look as if it was written by someone whose first language is English. The sentence structure and turns of phrase are really, um, unorthodox in places.

Take this line, exclaimed after a rousing victory, for example: "it's time to show General Blood where the alligators have their lunch."

Sorry, what? I don't understand what alligators - and the area where they dine - have got to do with my wiping out an opposing army with bullets. Or is this a common saying that has managed to pass me by completely?

Oh, yes, you read that right: the main villain of this piece is a chap called 'General Blood'.

The story, then - it's not exactly the game's greatest asset. Which is a pity, because so far it's one of the few things saving it from being written off as a wholesale rip-off of Clash of Clans.

There are loads of game developers that "draw inspiration" from others, and, for the most part, I think that's fine. Jungle Heat so closely resembles Clash of Clans, though, that I actually had to double-check that this wasn't a Supercell product.

My.com absolutely nails the gameplay of Clash of Clans here. So, you build oil and gold mines; you have only two workers that can create new buildings and upgrade old ones; you have to defend an HQ; and you can attack the bases of nearby bad guys for more resources.

You even do battle in a similar manner to doing battle in Clash of Clans. Yep, you have to tap the space you'd like your troops to enter the battlefield. They then automatically attack facilities while being pelted by defences.

Of course, Clash of Clans isn't a bad game. Far from it. If you're going to emulate a title, it may as well be a good one. And with Jungle Heat, My.com is doing a good job of emulating it... so far, that is.

Day 3: Oh, CoC

After further investigation, I can confirm that, yes, Jungle Heat is a Clash of Clans clone. And, nope, it doesn't appear to be morphing into anything else.

I like the visual change from barbarian clan to jungle-dwelling militia group, mind. Plus, the shrieks and cries do have a bestial appeal.

However, I'm progressing through the game just as you might expect: I've built cannons to defend the base from intruders, and I'm working through the main quest of the game as quickly as I can build new troops to overwhelm the enemy forces.

I'm also clearing nearby patches of land so I can lay the groundwork to expand my base out further. Oh, and I'm upgrading every building I possibly can with the tiny workforce I have so that I can produce more resources and unlock new buildings and troops.

It's a familiar grind, then, but it's still an enjoyable one. Even if there is a severe feeling of déjà vu about everything I'm doing.

Day 7: Feeling the heat

On Tuesday, I found that my base had been attacked. I tapped on the graves that were littering my base to remove them.

On Wednesday, I began building a wall around my HQ which will aid my defences.

Today, I added a new building - the Clan HQ - so I could create or join a clan.

Finding the differences between Jungle Heat and Clash of Clans is becoming really tough.

The AI of your troops is worse in Jungle Heat, though, that's for damn sure. I've lost battles because my troops have decided to attack walls instead of the turrets firing down on them, for example.

There's less of a community here, too, but that's likely just due to its relative youth. It did, at least, mean that finding a clan with openings was a doddle. Plus, there are online tournaments to encourage the growth of communities.

Have I been a bit tough on Jungle Heat simply because it's similar to Clash of Clans? Perhaps. If you've only ever owned Android devices and you're looking for the next best thing to Clash of Clans, then this is it.

But then I and, I would argue, most people reading this review with iOS hardware have already put a lot of time into Supercell's monstrously successful game, so it's not massively thrilling (to me, at least) to just repeat that experience almost wholesale no matter how competent a clone this game may be.

How are you getting on with the game? You can tell us and the rest of the PG community about your experiences by leaving a comment in the box below.

Jungle Heat

Clash of Clans with a jungle setting and a modern military theme. Jungle Heat isn't exactly innovative, then, but at least its developer does steal its ideas from the best and re-purposes them effectively
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Peter Willington
Peter Willington
Die hard Suda 51 fan and professed Cherry Coke addict, freelancer Peter Willington was initially set for a career in showbiz, training for half a decade to walk the boards. Realising that there's no money in acting, he decided instead to make his fortune in writing about video games. Peter never learns from his mistakes.