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Location-based RPG Life is Magic transforms the way you see the world

Mapping out an adventure

Location-based RPG Life is Magic transforms the way you see the world
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iOS
| Life is Magic

Living in the age of the internet and satellites, most people accept that every corner of the world has been mapped out in exhaustively high detail.

This fact is a bit of a downer to those who enjoy the uncertainty and adventure of fantasy roleplaying games - but thankfully the ambitious, location-based RPG Life is Magic is here to restore a sense of wonder to the world around us.

It accomplishes this by taking political maps of the real world and transforming them into fantasy landscapes. Multi-lane highways become dirt roads while office buildings turn into timber taverns or dungeons waiting to be explored.

Over Hill And Under Hill

When you begin Life is Magic, you choose to play as either a Mage, Machinist, or a Monk (Red Robot, apparently, has a thing for jobs that begin with the letter 'M') as you set out to explore the world around you.

If you live in a major city, the effect will be quite impressive as buildings sprawl out to cover your screen. Living in a somewhat rural area of a state like New Jersey, however, will reward you with the following fantasy vista:

The good news for the far-flung rural players is that you can teleport around the fantasy world to visit the foreboding towers of cities like New York, Philadelphia, or Boston, and that's actually the point of the game.

You're supposed to level up in easier areas (like, say, Piscataway or Ho-Ho-Kus) and then team-up with other players - asynchronously - as you venture into more imposing tower dungeons to collect epic loot and XP.

When you clear these dungeons, you'll take ownership of them until another player - or team of players - comes along to wrest them from your control.

Life is Magic currently available only on iOS in North America, but will be rolling out worldwide soon with an Android version to follow as well.
Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.