Many of us may not consider Gameloft capable of developing a free, fun game. Sure, there was Asphalt 6,7 and 8, but what about for those among us who don't appreciate racing games too much and prefer the traditional RPG or hack-and-slash dungeon crawler?
Well, for those people, I have found Order and Chaos: Duels to be a brilliant TCG RPG.
(TCG= Trading Card Game)
In Order and Chaos: Duels (O&C), you play a silent hero who seeks to destroy the 'Corruption', a sickness caused by a person named Zepar. You find yourself in a dungeon with a person named Alara, who decides to help you to get out of the dungeon and defeat Zepar. You get to choose a hero then. Each hero has different abilities, which can change the course of play dramatically.My favorites are an Orcish Mage named Wildmage Aghara, and an Elf named Thalya Hawkwing. Both their powers can be devastating if used properly.
So, anyhow, the aim of the game is to bring out your cards and destroy the opponent's cards. Depending on the hero you chose, this deck will vary. Orc and undead heroes get Chaos cards, whereas Elves and Humans get Order cards. The game has a turn-by-turn combat system, where you bring in your card for mana, wait 1 turn for it to get charged, and then it can attack. Each card has a specific amount of health and attack stat. If the attack of your card is higher than the health of the opponent's card, it will be destroyed. If a card has no card opposing it, then it will attack the hero, who also has a fixed amount of health, though much more than any card's health.
There are also Spell cards which have instant effects, such as cards that do extra damage to cards, increase your attack or health or may grant your cards special abilities.
Some of these abilities are-
1) Breach Attack- If the card opposing you is destroyed by this card attacking, then some damage is dealt additionally to the enemy hero.
2) Leech- Cards heal when they attack. For example, a card with Leech(3) heals for 3 health when it attacks.
3) Strengthen- This ability increases the attack of your neighbouring cards by a certain amount.
For example, if I brought out a Blind Reaper, a card with Strengthen(4), the cards around it would gain 4 attack.
4) Stun- Prevents a card from attacking for a given period of time.
These are just some of the many abilities in the game.
On your quest to destroy Zepar, you team up with more people. They are Laguth, a friendly Orc, and Naori, an Elf who pretends to be a follower of Zepar so that she could find her tribe members.
On your way, you face many people who have been taken over by the Corruption. The last part, where you face Zepar's order is the coolest. The people you fight there are former adventurers like you who gave in to Zepar after defeating all of his Corrupted followers.
Finally, after defeating Zepar, the game doesn't end. There is another campaign, where you are stuck in a swamp and have to get out. This is called the 'Swamp of Wyrms' and extends onto the Tear Coast and the Arcadian Forest.
The cards have incredible artwork and are divided into Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic cards. Epic cards are the strongest and the rarest. There are 77 epic cards, 102 rare cards, 117 uncommon cards and 132 common cards. Just to give you an idea of the amount of work put into this game.
It is available on both iOS and Android, and was recently released for the Windows Store.
Finally, the ratings-
Fun- 4/5
O&C is a great game that can provide a lot of fun to a player. However, if you cannot defeat a CPU, then it takes a lot of difficulty to defeat it in the end. For example, one of the early CPUs is a desert raider called Veiled Raider. He has 2 Fallen Lord Esteros cards, one of the best cards in the game. Not very easy to defeat if you just got out of the dungeon. However, I really like the fact that there is a campaign after defeating Zepar.
Graphics- 4.5/5
The cards are an amazing piece of art. They almost look real!
Plot/Storyline: 4/5
The story is a nice one, but the battles against the Corrupted to get to Zepar are too long and there are too many of them.
Gameplay: 4/5
The turn-based gameplay is interesting. We have to use a lot of strategy to defeat a difficult enemy.
Child-Friendliness: 3/5
There is no blood in the game, and no fighting per se, but the depiction of some female characters in the game is inappropriate for small children.
Replay Value: 3.5/5
After defeating an enemy named Dead Mistress, you can find free card packs randomly by defeating enemies.
Music: 4/5
The music is a sort of adventurous theme that suits the game perfectly.
Total: 27/35
