XBLA's first F2P game is Happy Wars!

[onlysublime]

 

http://playxbla.com/prepare-to-get-even-happier-in-happy-wars-coming-to-the-xbox-live-arcade-october-12/

 

15 versus 15 online multiplayer. Has a release date now of October 12. Maybe this is the date when the dashboard goes live as well?

[cparsley]

I hightly doubt that for the beta-dashboard.... The game actually has already gone live (with 400 max gamerscore available to boot, instead of normal live games being 200 gamerscore)

[onlysublime]

really? they announced that October 12 is the release date.

[davepesc]

Happy Wars released yesterday, although you wouldn't have known unless you were looking for it as I didn't see any ads on the dashboard for it. I actually had to use the bing feature to search for it.

 

 

But... it was well worth it. There are some big matchmaking issues, but the game is very fun and there are tons of weapons/armor to collect and upgrade. Battle is "supposed" to be 15-15, but most of my matches started at about 10-6, with the team having more players winning each time, regardless of player level. The system takes a long time to match players, and you might lose connection to the server during matchmaking. I never got booted during an actual match.

 

Matches are all won by destroying the opponent's totem in their home base. After 15 minutes, if no one has done that, the team controlling the most interim points is declared the winner.

 

And on player level, how are people level 40+ mere hours after launch, even with the advance launch for beta users? It did get old getting one-hit-killed after running 1/4 of the map to join the fight.

 

As best I can tell, leveling up does not effect your att/def stats. It only allows you to carry heavier gear, which in turn, allows you to get stronger.

 

There are 3 classes, Warrior, Mage, and Cleric. They have the strengths/weaknesses you would expect, but I find healing with the Cleric difficult with all the people running around and no easily visible health bars. Might get easier with practice. Clerics have the added duty of being the only class that can create the materials to build siege weapons.

 

There is a single-player mode, but missions unlock as you level up in multiplayer. This is very annoying to me, but I guess I understand why they made it this way.

 

I don't know how long Happy Wars will stay fresh. It is fun, and free. I certainly enjoyed my couple hours with it. To sum up, I would compare it to Castle Crashers both in terms of art style and simplistic combat, but with skirmish-style gameplay.

Edited October 14, 2012 by davepesc

[Atariboy]

The game actually has already gone live (with 400 max gamerscore available to boot, instead of normal live games being 200 gamerscore)

 

400 has been standard since summer.

[onlysublime]

I'm surprised they didn't reset the stats for all the beta gamers...

 

But resetting them would just delay the inevitable as those with the time and dedication will always be ahead of the casual players.

 

But make sure you use the checkpointing system so that you can warp around the map without having to run the entire map.

Edited October 14, 2012 by onlysublime

[davepesc]

I'm surprised they didn't reset the stats for all the beta gamers...

 

 

 

From what I understand, beta characters were reset, but those players got the final version of the game a few days early. Still, I can't imagine hitting 40 in a few days.

[onlysublime]

you'd be surprised. I was shocked how fast people leveled up in the Ghost Recon beta. And I just started playing Just Dance 4 which just came out a few days ago, and there are tons of people that have unlocked nearly the whole game after only a few days. People that are dedicated and really enjoy a game can level up fast.

[Mord]

No I consider Free2Play (as do many in the industry) a game in which you can play (offline/online (if the game has it available) without having to pay for the game in question.)

 

Actually when you hear the term "free to play" being used in articles and the like, they're not referring to freeware, which is what you're describing.

 

If you were to say what they really imply, it'd be "Free to play, pay to succeed". Basically a game where they give you the ability to connect to it, as these are almost always online games, but if you want to be the best at anything you'd better be ready to open your wallet or you'll be pwned by anyone else that did.

 

All you're doing is arguing over semantics in this case.

[cparsley]

Nice to see one arguement has stayed soooo live and well without me returning to it... It's a cool game, cost you nothing, let's leave it at that (and the first who walks in whining "but you need gold..." gets a swift kick, as Captain S would say, everything gets the kick!)