On the surface, Order & Chaos Duels is impressive.
Gameloft have created a dueling card game
that not only includes a lengthy campaign,
but leads into a ranked competitive multiplayer
system... that and it's a free to play release!
So 'what's the catch' I hear you asking?
Is the in-app purchase model overly aggressive?
Is the game stacked against new players, Is
the design crippled by its choice of revenue
stream?
Well the funny thing is that with all the
time we here at AppSpy spent with the game,
none of that seemed to be the case.
Oh, our review has some caveats to be sure,
but for the most part Gameloft have hit this
one out of the park.
You begin by choosing your deck.
There are four races (two on the order side,
and two on the chaos side).
Within these races there is the selection
of four deck types, so the beginning of your
game can differ greatly based on what you
picked.
However, there is only one extra free slot
(each one after this requires in game currency)
to us for experimenting with other heroes
and there does not seem to be a way to delete
your choice.
You better be sure you're picking the hero
that you want, as that decision is final.
While some heroes rely more on spells; others
on monsters; and some equipment, over time
you can build your deck to your liking with
the only restriction being cards of your allegiance
(no chaos cards for order heroes and vice
versa).
You start with a basic deck, and as you win
battles you gain experience, gold, new cards,
and possible runes.
Leveling up grants you more gold and runes,
and also increases your max health and your
deck's size restrictions.
The runes are the premium in game currency,
and both runes and gold can be used on new
cards and items (with the purchase of cards
being random).
Items grant boons before a match like boosting
your health, or lowering your opponent's.
In fact much of the drive towards in-app purchases
seems to be geared towards the multiplayer
side of things, where you'd want to grab every
advantage you can to gain an edge over your
opponent, and it seems Gameloft have banked
on their player base spending money in order
to achieve that goal.
Luckily the campaign progression is rather
steady, and is also to the multiplayer in
the form of pillaging players up to the same
point in the game as you (defeating them for
spoils of war).
When you reach the second island, there is
a brief difficulty spike, but the more astute
players will adjust to the changes, and it's
not a case of forcing the player to spend
money.
These include small, but obvious strategy
tips such as making sure to burn a card for
mana each round - having a low pool because
you couldn't bear to lose a certain card is
a quick recipe for defeat.
We should probably talk about the card game
itself right?
The goal is to bring your opposing hero's
health to zero before they can do the same
to you.
You have 5 cards to play with each round from
your deck, and if you have the mana, you can
cast as many as you like (summoning monsters,
casting spells or equipping weapons and armor).
Your monsters act as your attack and defense
like in a game of Magic: The Gathering.
These will automatically do your bidding at
the end of each round, and will attack the
opposing hero if there is no other creature
opposing it directly to defend.
Earlier we mentioned that you can sacrifice
one card each round to raise your mana pool,
and this is a must for not only summoning
your heavy hitters, but for getting multiple
cards on the board each turn.
Playing conservatively will get you nowhere
fast.
It's a system that is familiar to fans of
other popular dueling card games thanks to
its heavy borrowing of mechanics, but the
small changes make it its own.
Games can be a blur as everything moves so
fast, especially when you don't know which
card exactly is doing what, but the more you
play, the less that becomes a problem.
Really for the free price tag, and the in-app
purchases only really becoming an issue for
the competitive gamer, if you enjoy dueling
card games at all, pick this up.
It's got more than enough depth in its mechanics
and content to keep you busy for quite a while.
Who knows, it might even grab you in its clutches
to the point where you're spending money.
