Backyard Monsters is a real-time strategy game that allows players to manufacture different types of monsters and set them loose (strategically) against the world. When I say ‘world’, I really do mean ‘world’, as you get to randomly hunt down actually ‘other’ players of the game and attack their settlements. It’s a neat online connection to a world, and one that pretty much dares you to get better and prepare yourself at any given moment for an attack — karma is a you-know-what. While I was off the beaten path reviewing the likes of Call of Duty: Ghosts last week (we have to juggle multiple games during the holiday season — cut us some slack), I stopped playing Backyard Monsters Unleashed briefly (3-4 days). When I came back, my poor settlement had been all but wiped out and ransacked by other actual players. I love that and find that positively fascinating about the world that KIXEYE created for Monsters.
With that said, the other option to play the game, if you’re not interested in stirring up trouble, is to play their campaign mode. This mode allows you to build a monster force and pretty much invade cities that KIXEYE has put together. The goal is to destroy everything on the chosen level within a certain amount of time. If you do that then you gain stars (out of 3), which leads to better rewards. I have moved quickly through the campaign mode, though currently I’m stuttering a bit due to difficulty of the game. I enjoy a good challenge, and as you progress in the campaign mode, you get a challenge pretty quickly. You can’t simply set your monsters free and hope they do their best to destroy everything. Rather you have to strategize what monsters go where, what they specifically attack and how many you are willing to sacrifice. Once you use your monsters in attacks, they’re gone forever (you can generate more, but the ones you use are all used up).
If you end up doing well on your attacks, you gain loot and beautiful upgrades (like a fun missile) to help you with future attacks. There’s a lot to motivate players to keep going on the campaign, and it helps out in the long run when you’re trying to develop good strategies on the online side of the game. I like both aspects of the online/campaign modes, as they give you an even balance of practice (campaign) and execution (online). I very much like this type of gameplay.
The leveling system in Backyard Monsters: Unleashed is what you would expect from an RTS. You use coins (or loot you collect – stones, branches, goo, etc.) to upgrade and unlock new facilities and monsters. You gain loot quickly from attacking and pulling out victories online and in campaign mode. The better you do, the more you get and the more open the world of Backyard Monsters: Unleashed becomes. When the world of a game grows, the interest of gamers is typically stimulated and encouraged to keep going. The game definitely wants you to keep going.
Having said that, the biggest caveat I have with this system lies within the shiny (coins) you gain. I haven’t quite figured out how you gain them over time, but I have figured out that you can gain more through an actual monetary transaction. I think the game should be a bit more flexible on how you gain shiny. I think that this ‘free-to-play’ method offered by the game feels like a set up to spend actual money on shiny to continue. I do realize this sort of strategy works well with games like Candy Crush, but when it’s not connected to a social media network, the game should be a straight up ‘pay once’ sort of deal. I do realize that attraction of the ‘free-to-play’ method, but ultimately gamers will hit a wall…as I have hit a wall.
That wall is that I don’t have enough shiny to really progress in the game. Each set of monsters you create costs a minimum amount of shiny, which adds up after you go through the campaign. It adds up even more when your invasion strategy doesn’t pay off and you lose a ton of monsters in the process. I get why KIXEYE would want to do this with Backyard Monsters Unleashed, but it doesn’t make it any more attractive in the long run.
As for the presentation portion of this game, it falls somewhere in the middle. The screen is nice and pretty on the iPhone, but it’s unfortunately small and less visually expressive. When you see this game running on Facebook, it’s pretty and detailed. When you see it on a small iPhone screen (4/4s/5/5-whatever), it’s tough to work out the details. On the bigger objects, like the hatchery and other complexes, they’re pretty clear as day. When the monsters start appearing in the game, not so much. Their animations are there and it looks solid, but it’s difficult to see the intricate details in the monsters, which is sad. So, everything pretty about the monsters, all their personalities are lost in the translation because the screen size takes it all away. That isn’t the worst thing in the world, but certainly it’s a disadvantage for the title.
So, is this game fun? When you’re not desperately seek shiny, the game really does excel. It’s fun, addictive and I could see myself playing this on a week to week basis, if it wasn’t on the free-to-play model. I would pay $5.99 – $9.99 for this game once instead of paying continually to keep laying the smack down on other players of the game. Regardless, of cost (or ultimate cost), the game is free on iTunes, so if you like RTS titles then you should give this sucker a go. It’s creative, fun and it does a good job to keep you hooked.