Empire Deluxe Mobile Edition for Android: App Review

Posted By Mark Kaelin in App Picks, Features, Gaming, Mobile

BreakingModern — I admit it. Playing games is pretty much my favorite thing to do. Games are social, intellectually stimulating and fun to play … for the most part. However, it’s the strategy genre that really drives my passion for games. Any good strategy game keeps me up way past my bedtime when I am trying to capture just one more elusive objective. One of the first games that really tapped into that “one more move” obsession for me is a PC game called Empire: Wargame of the Century.

The good news? I can now relive and revisit that experience with Empire Deluxe Mobile Edition by Killer Bee Software.

KISS

The original Empire: Wargame of the Century, released in 1987, epitomizes the principle of “keep it simple stupid.” The Empire Deluxe Mobile Edition, which is currently available for $3.99 on Android for Google Play and Apple iOS (Windows Phone and Blackberry platforms to come), maintains this deceptively simple approach. There is only one objective: total world domination achieved by conquest. You’ll find no subtleties of diplomacy in this game.

To complete your conquest you will rely on a small number of units, each with their own particular set of skills. Armies and tanks take the ground, fighters and bombers provide air support, submarines and destroyers defend captured territory, cruisers and battleships weaken coastal cities and transports move your units across oceans. That’s your arsenal, now get to it.

Simple Not Dumb

Much like Chess, the simplicity of the units does not diminish from the complexity of the game when it comes to strategy. You will have to decide what units to build, how many you will need and when you will need them. You will have to explore the randomly generated map to discover neutral and enemy controlled cities. Once found, you will have to decide how to approach each city. Are the cities open or well defended? Do you approach by land or by sea? Do you need to soften the defenses first or is there not enough time?

And don’t forget about your enemies. The AI, because there is only one real objective, is surprisingly good. Once your cities are discovered, the enemy will send everything it has to capture them. Like the Terminator, that’s all it does — a relentless attack that can only be stopped by getting them before they get you.

I mean, come on, how much fun can one have on a mobile device?

Yours for the Taking

If you are any kind of strategy gamer at all, I predict you will be entertained by Empire Deluxe and that you will find the game is well worth the price.

That being said, there are a few caveats. I played the game on Andy the Android Emulator, and the performance was a bit sluggish. I don’t know if that was because of the emulator or just the way the game operates under normal conditions.

The other caveat I will mention is the graphics. Killer Bee Software decided to keep the look, sound and feel of the original DOS games, which means MIDI sound and 16-bit looking graphics. I appreciate the nostalgia, but others my find the lack of modern imagery a bit off-putting.

Overall the Empire Deluxe Mobile Edition is a fine addition to your mobile game library and will likely delight and frustrate even the most seasoned strategy gamer.

For BMod, I’m Mark W. Kaelin.

All Screenshots: Mark Kaelin