 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Logo by Max Layne Photography
| Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade |
Like every other board game that has been played in the past, yet another has been brought into the digital age with a video game version of itself. Similar to the style of board games like
Catan and Carcassone, “Greed Corp” is a strategy game that takes place in a new fantasy world called Mistbound. The objective of this game differs from that of similar style games in that
the player’s goal is complete destruction. While fighting against different factions, it is up to players to consume as many resources as the possibly can and ultimately destroy any land that
their enemies have. This is the first game by W!Games and is surely a welcomed addition to the Xbox Live Arcade for any board game fan.
“Greed Corp” is a land grab game that plays out in a hexagonal board. As resources are harvested from the board, the ground beneath the harvesting locations begins to crumble. If players
stay in one spot too long and harvest from a single location, the ground will completely fall from under the player and they will lose units. Maps are presented to the player as hexagonal tiles of
different heights with all of the battlefield floating over a thick mist. The main objective of the game is, as always, to be the last player standing. A single player is eliminated when all of their
building and units are destroyed. This is of course where the first problem of the game arises. The issue comes in the form of players never really knowing who is winning and who is losing.
There will be several instances where players have the most units on the board and may be taking out the enemy, only to find themselves losing a couple of rounds later in the game.
The tutorial for the game doesn’t do a very good job of explaining what it is that players are supposed to be doing in the game. Instead, it presents the player with a game and tells them what
moves to make in order to win, but never explains why the player needs to make these moves to win. This of course makes the learning curve a little bit too steep for those who have never
played a game of this type and are trying to make their way through a single player campaign.
When it comes to the different units that the game offers to use to fight and protect land, there are only five different units available to the player. This may seem like it would be a little bit
lacking compared to other games and the number of units used, but the five units are well balanced and provide a lot of strategy for the overall game play.
“Greed Corp” also offers the player a multiplayer feature for those that are looking for more of a challenge against another human player. Though players will be able to find other online to
play the game with, many will be at the same point in the game. Many players will have the basic idea of the game down, but won’t be sure of what strategy to use against each other. After
playing through both the single player campaign and the multiplayer feature, many players will be left wishing that the tutorial had offered a lot more information than it did.
When it comes to the graphics and sound of the game, both are done very well. The art style is a very colorful, steam-punk look that fits will with the theme of the game. Each unit in the game
features a lot of different moving parts and effects to fit the steam-punk style that the game is based on. The sounds for each unit in the game really make it feel like players are slowly
destroying the land around them as the gather materials. The music feels like a take on 1960’s music, if it were techno music. During a round of the game, it feels very appropriate, but the
music used in the game menus does get a little bit annoying if players don’t make a choice quickly enough. W!Games has said this is the first in a series of games to take place in their newly
invented Mistbound universe. Hopefully they decide to use a similar style for their future titles as well.
Overall, for those that are a fan of either rturn based strategy games or board games, “Greed Corp” is a game that is definitely worth checking out. Giving players the choice to either harvest
everything they have available to them, or to attempt to take everything away from the other players in the game in a nice addition nto the game’s overall strategy formula. The single player
campaign will offer players will plenty of hours of fun, and the option to go online and play against other confused players through the multiplayer feature is an added bonus. “Greed Corp” is
available Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points, and for those who are able to pick up a controller and figure out the actual strategy needed to play the game, that is a very
small price to pay.
Catan and Carcassone, “Greed Corp” is a strategy game that takes place in a new fantasy world called Mistbound. The objective of this game differs from that of similar style games in that
the player’s goal is complete destruction. While fighting against different factions, it is up to players to consume as many resources as the possibly can and ultimately destroy any land that
their enemies have. This is the first game by W!Games and is surely a welcomed addition to the Xbox Live Arcade for any board game fan.
“Greed Corp” is a land grab game that plays out in a hexagonal board. As resources are harvested from the board, the ground beneath the harvesting locations begins to crumble. If players
stay in one spot too long and harvest from a single location, the ground will completely fall from under the player and they will lose units. Maps are presented to the player as hexagonal tiles of
different heights with all of the battlefield floating over a thick mist. The main objective of the game is, as always, to be the last player standing. A single player is eliminated when all of their
building and units are destroyed. This is of course where the first problem of the game arises. The issue comes in the form of players never really knowing who is winning and who is losing.
There will be several instances where players have the most units on the board and may be taking out the enemy, only to find themselves losing a couple of rounds later in the game.
The tutorial for the game doesn’t do a very good job of explaining what it is that players are supposed to be doing in the game. Instead, it presents the player with a game and tells them what
moves to make in order to win, but never explains why the player needs to make these moves to win. This of course makes the learning curve a little bit too steep for those who have never
played a game of this type and are trying to make their way through a single player campaign.
When it comes to the different units that the game offers to use to fight and protect land, there are only five different units available to the player. This may seem like it would be a little bit
lacking compared to other games and the number of units used, but the five units are well balanced and provide a lot of strategy for the overall game play.
“Greed Corp” also offers the player a multiplayer feature for those that are looking for more of a challenge against another human player. Though players will be able to find other online to
play the game with, many will be at the same point in the game. Many players will have the basic idea of the game down, but won’t be sure of what strategy to use against each other. After
playing through both the single player campaign and the multiplayer feature, many players will be left wishing that the tutorial had offered a lot more information than it did.
When it comes to the graphics and sound of the game, both are done very well. The art style is a very colorful, steam-punk look that fits will with the theme of the game. Each unit in the game
features a lot of different moving parts and effects to fit the steam-punk style that the game is based on. The sounds for each unit in the game really make it feel like players are slowly
destroying the land around them as the gather materials. The music feels like a take on 1960’s music, if it were techno music. During a round of the game, it feels very appropriate, but the
music used in the game menus does get a little bit annoying if players don’t make a choice quickly enough. W!Games has said this is the first in a series of games to take place in their newly
invented Mistbound universe. Hopefully they decide to use a similar style for their future titles as well.
Overall, for those that are a fan of either rturn based strategy games or board games, “Greed Corp” is a game that is definitely worth checking out. Giving players the choice to either harvest
everything they have available to them, or to attempt to take everything away from the other players in the game in a nice addition nto the game’s overall strategy formula. The single player
campaign will offer players will plenty of hours of fun, and the option to go online and play against other confused players through the multiplayer feature is an added bonus. “Greed Corp” is
available Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points, and for those who are able to pick up a controller and figure out the actual strategy needed to play the game, that is a very
small price to pay.
| Genre: Action/Adventure Developer: Raven Software Publisher: Activision |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
