Slug Wars lets you command a battlefield full of war-driven slugs, thirsty for victory! Toughen it out and command your OWN army to victory!

Slug Wars ($0.99)

Descend into the world of Slug Wars….Literally!  Did you ever wonder what happens beneath the canopy of grass in your own back yard?  Defend your base from the slug onslaught all while trying to capture your enemies base.  Slug Wars is a real time strategy game that is all about managing your queue.  And let me tell you, it’s GOOD!

My Take

Yes, this is my first time playing this kind of strategy based game.  I shouldn’t have waited so long, but eventually I would crater to the fun Slug Wars brings.  Another thought about the game.  It has that cartoony-macabre sarcasm to the fighting.  That alone is a definite sell point to any game, any genre.

They are slugs, while they marching to battle with all their might, they are still slow as snails.  The animation itself is goofy fun, perfect for a 99 cent game. Lots of snickering that slowly goes away in turn for a battle waiting to be won in the trenches.

Presentation

The graphics to be honest, are par to me. They are good, but something tells me the art and graphics need a bit more polishing. The game looks flash-driven.  I like flash games.  I play a few online.  Obviously, I’m not keen on how flash games are built or if this is a flash game.

It just seems like it fits in that category. Setting that aside, it’s easy on the user interface, very cool chipmunk voices and death squeals.  Again, it’s a good game, but there’s more that could have been done in this department.

Gameplay

The basic idea is to march towards the enemy’s fort (or other side), playing a matchup game to the foes doing the same thing.  Unlike a tower defense game, it’s both offensive and defensive.  Three enemy crossovers and you are defeated.  To help you protect your side, you have a choice of infantry.  Level one gives you a basic GI, pretty straight forward and a missile launching snail.  The latter is slower, due to the artillery on its back.

Upon unlocking another slug, you get this crazy one, which to me sold the game. It’s a kamikaze unit, with a salt shaker on its back.  Ok, we all grew up knowing if we pour salt on a slug or snail they shrivel up and die.  So it’s obvious he’s gonna kill himself with his foe directly in front of him.  And yes he does a kamikaze shrill as it enters the playfield.

About selecting your infantry, be careful, you only have a certain amount of money.  You don’t want to be caught with empty pockets, that will allow the enemy to walk right in, unharmed or build up an unstoppable offensive march. So be careful when you spend.  Money is replenished with eating the flowers randomly sprouting up in the field.  Continue to get through levels, the battle gets tougher and more slugs are added with their special moves. There’s enough variety to keep you playing for a while.  With three modes of play, I usually do the campaign trail.  While the game also offers a skirmish mode and slug-it-out, or quickplay and head-to-head.  One note, head-to-head is with one device!  Perfect for those kids who fight over playing games.

Suggestions

There’s a few areas. I mentioned one in the presentation already.  I think this one needs some online action.  Either true online head-to-head or at least some global scoring system.  Posting on facebook is way too saturated, but within OpenFeint or the like, that’s a good move forward.

Secondly, it’s a slow battle, a fast forward button added would suffice the impatient. Finally, the load time in the beginning.  I thought the app was hung up.  It’s a really long, too long, like as in old-school PS1 long.  Again these suggestions should not hinder the game. It’s good now, but can be better!

Conclusion

Slug Wars for a dollar?  Of course!  It’s good tongue in cheek humor mixed in with the spirit of competition, against the computer Ai or against a friend. It’s a lot of fun, check it out!