Customer Reviews

BattleForge

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What it is:

This game is basically a combination of Magic the Gathering and Age of Mythology (or Warcraft). It's a real time strategy game, but instead of collecting resources needed to "cast" items, you collect energy needed to "cast" cards from your 20-card deck.

I did not beta test the game -- I bought it on its release date. The game has a very small community, and I worry that it may be too small. But the community is engaged, active, and much more articulate than what you'd find in a typical MMO. I spent $100 on the game and some cards, and that's PLENTY. I don't have everything, but I have enough to build very competitive decks. Executing those decks competitively is another matter...

THE GOOD:

1. It's a collectible card game, and I love collecting cards. One can spend hours studying the 200 available cards, tinkering with decks, etc. That's almost as fun as playing the game. I'm already addicted to my desks.

2. The game has both PvE (player versus computer) and PvE (plater versus player) maps. If you're up for a quick challenge, play PvP. Want to relax and play slow? Try PvE. Games are short enough to be manageable if you have a family to care for (my average games are 5-25 minutes).

3. There are only 200 cards for now. That's plenty. I quit playing MTG because there were like 3453767634 cards. It was impossible to keep up.

4. Gameplay has been great. I've never crashed, never noticed a bug, and have thoroughly enjoyed the graphics and play. It truly is a fun experience.

THE BAD:

1. There appears to be a shortage of things to do long-term once the PvE missions are completed. At that point, as far as I can tell, you're stuck with PvP if you want to do something new.

2. You can't practice against the computer on the PvP maps. Why is this a problem? Because if you're new to the game like me you'll get utterly destroyed in your first 10-20 PvP matches. But you still gain experience points for those matches, and I believe you're seeded against opponents based on your experience points (if I'm wrong, please correct me via comments). So you end up getting killed time and time again but keep getting seeded against better and better players. You can practice PvP in a "non-ranked" sparring mode, but I get crushed there even more often than I do when I'm seeded according to my ranking. It sure would be nice to practice tactics on the PvP maps against the computer (or even accessing the PvP maps without an opponent). That leads me to my third complaint:

3. The community is too small. I sometimes have to wait 15 minutes for the computer to find me an opponent. That's not because I'm seeded so low. It's because there are only 20 or so other people available to play.

4. The manual is way too sparse and the game's website doesn't have enough information about actual gameplay. I had to post forum questions just to get simple answers about how the game works.


Despite the "bads," this game was certainly worth my money and I'm happy I'm a part of it. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to any former MTG player who likes RTS games and can readily shell out $50 for the game and at least another $20-$40 for extra cards.

The game itself is free2play. Downloading it from the battleforge website will let you play through the entire game but with a very limited deck of cards (to summon units, spells and buildings). Buying this will give you more cards and, more importantly, points for the game that will let you buy specific cards from the in-game auction house. The best part of this digital download is that as soon as you purchase it, you are directed to your amazon game center page where the activation code is given. This means that if you already have the game installed, you can just paste the code from that page into the game client and unlock all the cards and points, no waiting for a package or even a confirmation email, it's instant. Much better reviews of the game itself can be found elsewhere, but I wanted to let people know how easy and fast it is to pick up this digital copy.

I am enjoying this game. Being able to mix and match from the different factions is a unique and enjoyable addition to the RTS scene.

There is two things I wish I had known about, however, and am passing on to you, reader:

1) this game is online only. there is no offline game.

2) You have to buy the cards with real cash. True to EA style, in order to get the most out of this game you have to spend more and more. I can already guess that there will be expansion sets of cards that you will have to pay for to stay competitive.

you do get quite a few cards to start with, and a 'free' 3000 points in your account ($30 worth) enough to play the game, and enjoy it. but if you want to shine, if you want to win in PvP, it's about strategy, sure, and skill, yes, but it's also about who spent the most cash, just like any other CCG (collectible card game).

Unfortunately, you don't get the nice little benefit of being able to sell the cards 10-20 years later, because everything is digital.

At the time of writing this, cards come in packs of 8 and cost 250 points, buying 250 points costs $2.50 so it is exactly like buying a booster pack of any other CCG, but without all that troublesome cardboard.

I am enjoying the game, and am going to go back and play some more, after writing this. I just felt these 'little' details should be mentioned to perspective buyers.

Just wanted to confirm that this version does give you the 3000 BattleForge points and the 4 starter decks. So it's a pretty good deal, since it's half the price of what the EA store charges. Plus it's a digital download, so you're up and running as soon as you get your code (if you've already got a copy of the game installed).

This game is awesome and if this is a good way to get BF points for cheap u get 3000 BFpts and 4 decks and they have sweet cards :D the serial code is giving to u after u bought it :D

Though the game has gone free almost a year ago now, this review will be on the purchasable "box set" that amazon sells. It is entirely possible to stay free and be highly competitive.(don't let anyone tell you otherwise, I have been top 200 in pvp on 3 different accounts using different strategies on each one with no additional cards)However, variety is the spice of life and will keep you coming back so buying new cards will open up new possibilities, add variety and options, as well as decreasing the amount of weaknesses your deck may have. You can earn the in-game currency to buy more cards by playing every day or by constantly trading for a profit but unless you are one of those people who just HAVE to brag about staying free, buying the game would be an incredible investment for you. It just so happens to be that buying a copy of the game at the dirt cheap prices on amazon.com or half.com not only gives you 3000 battleforge points at 1/3 of its normal cost but it also gives you another 64 cards as icing on the cake. This is enough to make you whatever fully loaded deck you could dream of and take it to the big leagues as long as you have someone to tell you what cards would fit your play-style that are reasonable priced.

Now to the game itself. Maybe its just me being a real time strategy fanatic but the thought of completely being able to customize your faction and create your own combinations is a dream come true. I have played over a year now and to this day I still see new strategies I have never seen before or thought of. The possible combinations for the game are endless and I enjoy being the first to come up with a few unlikely combos. The game does have a grind of sorts to upgrade your cards but it gives the game a mass multiplayer online feel and I enjoy working for my strength. Missions are a nice distraction from head to head player matches and playing them increases the power of your deck. Not only that but missions can range from single player to 12 player co-operative maps that are a completely unique experience in the video game world. Player verses player matches can also be played 2 on 2 where you will even see decks built to compliment each other in order to crush opposition. Its not a perfect game by any means(reused model skins, no new campaign in last expansion, no guilds, and a lack of a super competitive "pro" playerbase) but it keeps me coming back time after time and is a MUST have for real time strategy or collectible card fans. Such a pity that this game did not get more publicity, with a larger community it would be even better. A third expansion is on the way and the game just hit its most balanced state yet. Its a good time to try this gem out and I'm really not joking when I say its the best video game purchase I have ever found.

This game is pretty good and Amazon is the best place to shop in my opinion.
You really get what you pay for.

This package is a good deal, even if you downloaded the game off the internet. This package will give you 3000 BattleForge points versus the 2200 points you can buy for 19.99 through the game.

Playing solo gets difficult after the first tier, but you can occasionally find a stranger to play. For no subscription, it's easier to get your friends to play with you. Multiplayer is fun and a nice change from the traditional RTS games.

If you ever played Magic The Gathering, World of Warcraft,and Age of Empires, and liked all three (or anything like them), you will LOVE Battleforge. It has a growing online community, a depth of strategy, the fun involved in creating and upgrading a deck, and the glory of watching it all unfold with great graphics on your computer screen.

The story is a little whacky, yet interesting. The units and factions are diverse and beautifully rendered. The missions themselves are challenging, and more importantly, filled with Co-op opportunities. Battleforge has got to be the best co-op RTS to date. There are plenty of single, two, four, and TWELVE player missions that all have three levels of difficulty. PvP is faster paced but just as fun.

The higher level of difficulty, the better the persistent rewards. One of the best parts of battleforge is that by playing PvP and PvE missions you slowly get to win upgrades for your cards and ultimately your deck. These upgrades give an advantage, but aren't so overpowered that you are ever guaranteed to win when playing against a player with a lower deck level than yourself. These upgrades, combined with trading cards, and the seamless auction house system, provide endless amounts of goals to keep you going.

I would highly recommend Battleforge, despite the microtransactions involved. In my opinion all of the microtransactions are a whole lot of fun, especially because the interface is so well done. Also, the game comes with more than enough cards and plenty of battleforge points, so you don't need to buy any more cards if you don't want to in order to be competetive.

Some finer points about Battleforge that make it outclass many RTS games to date:

-There is no build order, so you aren't at a disadvantage if you don't know which building, or how many of them to build for best efficiency in troop production (which is massively important in other RTS). It is nice to focus on strategy, rather than speed.

-Customize your army BEFORE taking it into battle. This adds a whole new layer of depth to the experience. Mix and match the colors and units that you like to fit your strategy.


-Win permanent upgrades to your units by completing missions. This works something like winning weapons and armor for a world of warcraft character. It gives you permanent goals that make you feel like you've accomplished something.

-Co-Op is just tons of fun.

This game is really good! I don't know why I never heard of it, but it's amazing. It combines the glory of a solid built RTS with the thrill of a card game. Top notch.