Strategy games are in abundance on the iPad because the system’s bright display and touch-screen controls are tailor-made for the genre. In spite of that, there aren’t many breathtaking original games in the genre on the platform. Most of them feel similar and don’t have enough uniqueness to make them stand out.
After a few hours with Gaijin Games and Spellbox’s “Fantasy Conflict,†it’s easy to see that it could easily eat up hours more of your time. Intuitive control, a “Warcraft†meets “Shrek†story and plenty of gameplay options make for a crazy, one of a kind experience. The sound effects and music also give it the edge over the myriad of medieval strategy games on the iPad.
While you’ll have a smile on your face during gameplay, your fingers will disagree. They will be engaged in a fight for their lives. “Fantasy Conflict†is hard. The first few levels, usually a place to hone your skills in most other games, are legit. You have to think two or three moves ahead. There’s no slowing down. Nose is itchy? Thirsty? Too bad. Bus and train rides will go from quiet mandatory exclusions to blood-drenched tactical battles for the sake of your kingdom.
The difficulty isn’t a deterrent though. It just forces you to try again. And you will. You will.
Aside from some small in-game menus that are hard to click on at times, “Fantasy Conflict†runs like a charm. After a few games, the size of the menus isn’t much of a bother either. This game will grow on you. Even better, it’ll change your idea of what a quality iPod game is supposed to be. Far from watered down, “Fantasy Conflict†has the depth of any quality PC strategy game and would work great on the 360 or Vita as well.
In the end, that’s what any solid game thrives to be- suitable on any and every platform, but best on the one you’re playing it on.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
Strategy games are in abundance on the iPad because the system’s bright display and touch-screen controls are tailor-made for the genre. In spite of that, there aren’t many breathtaking original games in the genre on the platform. Most of them feel similar and don’t have enough uniqueness to make them stand out.
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