Highborn is a turn-based strategy game for iPad set in a fantasy environment with paladins, wizards and warriors. What sets Highborn apart for the mix of other worthy turn-based games is it's humor and asynchronous multiplayer gameplay.
You start the game off with "Archie" your wise-cracking paladin. The game uses humor to its advantage to drive the story and successfully at that. You select your unit whether it's Archie, soldiers or archers and move them around the board to capture buildings and defeat the bay guys. You can tap on any character (good or bad) to see their movement range and attack range. Next you tap the location you would like your unit to move to. Then you can attack if next to an enemy or launch a distance attack if you are in range. Regretfully, once you have made a move (without ending your turn) you can not undo your move. This is frustrating, but you quickly learn to plan your moves out more carefully.
Capturing buildings and rune stones are a major part of Highborn. Towers typically attack you with catapults, buildings with arrows and so on. Most buildings come with a benefit too, once you capture them (which involves a battle) you earn something to help you in your battles. A monastery gives you a healer, a tower gives you a wizard and a farm building might give you angry farmers with pitchforks!
Each level in Highborn is individual, meaning that as you progress in the game, you don't necessarily carry your army with you. You sometimes get a bonus character to use during the level too. I was a little disappointed by this as it would be more fun to amass an army as you progress through the levels to some ultimate cataclysmic standoff! Sadly that is not the case here.
Multiplayer is a great addition to Highborn. Log into your OpenFeint account and you can play asynchronously like with Words with Friends or Scrabble. This is a blast, but the challenge is that you can only challenge friends to a game if they use OpenFeint. Granted, if they have the game they likely will, but it would be nice to be able to invite a player based on username or some other identifier.
There a few shortcomings with Highborn, but not don't let them distract you from the light-hearted fun turn-based strategy game. If you and a friend own it, multiplayer is awesome.
[$2.99- iTunes Link]
Pros
- Variety of terrain and enemies to fight
- Game gets progressively harder to build your skills
- Saves game if you need to quit
- Animated battles (can turn off in options)
Cons
- Simple graphics
- Can't undo a turn
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