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Aggression 1.08 BY: BLiT Games
Back about the end of
April I found a news item regarding a new game, based on the strategy board
game Risk, that was being developed by BLiT Games. The game was called Aggression.
Not being the sort to
read directions first, I downloaded the game and installed it on my NX70V.
It wouldn’t run. I then checked and discovered that it was still in
its early developmental phase and that the developer as working on an OS
5.0 compatible version.
Over the next few weeks I
traded emails with Jeff over at BLiT and was able
to get my hands on a copy of version 1.07 when it was released.
Aggression was initially
made public when it was still under development, Version 1.01 to be exact.
Development has continued (and will continue for a while) to the point that
Aggression will now run on all Palm devices with a color
screen. Release 1.07 primarily dealt with the OS 5.0 compatibility issue
and a few bug fixes. Version 1.08, originally intended as the first
official release of the game, will repair a few additional bugs as well as
improve the computer AI.
Note: Although this
game has now been “officially” released, the introductory
pricing will be in effect until the end of May. If you like this game,
I’d advise buying it sooner than
later….
Now, let’s take an
extended look at the game itself.
The object behind
Aggression, just like in Risk, is to conquer the world which is divided
into 42 territories on 6 continents. Each player starts with the same
number of men, depending on the number of players and how it divides into
42, and then get more to use to fortify your territories after all are
chosen. More men are given out each turn (I won’t bore you with all
the algorithms used. If you’re interested, visit this forum…)and bonus men are handed out for aggression or
conquering an entire continent. These men are then able to attack and
conquer adjacent territories to expand your empire.
When the game is started
for the first time you are given the opportunity to register the game using
the same user name, hotsync ID, and registration
number given to you from BLiT. (If you purchased
the game from Handango, you can go here to convert their
5-digit code into the correct 10-digit one.)
After tapping on the
title screen you are given the options to start a new game, resume a
current game, review the game rules, or check out the upcoming features or
hardware requirements. Note: if you have already registered the game,
don’t tap the “Already Registered” option as you will
have to re-enter the registration information or exit the game and restart
it.
After choosing to start a
new game, you are given a screen where you can choose up to 6 different
players, their intelligence (thus setting the difficulty of the game).
Other options alloy you to adjust how the game is set up (pre-game
settings), the length of the game (limiting the number of men to 12 per
territory), or adjusting the initial screens and help box messages.
Now it’s time to
take a look at the game screen. If you look close (let me get my
bifocals…) you can see that the screen is divided into a main playing
area as well as some bars and boxes of information.
These information screens
are broken down into the following areas:
The choices of screens
are real nice. The continents view can be accessed by holding down the
“C” button while the other two screens are swappable depending
on if you prefer the opaque or solid colors.
Men are moved from one
country to another (either one of your own or in an attack on an adjacent
country) by tapping first on your own country and then on an adjacent one.
This can get rather tedious, however, (especially if you have the 12 men
per country limit turned off…) and so there is an advanced game
interface built it. This automates some of the more commonly used game
functions such as conquering a country and moving all but one of your men
to it (Juggernaut Mode) or killing all but one man in the destination
country (Juggernaut Save). You can access this advances game capability by
using the icons on the screen or using your stylus in conjunction with your
jog wheel – a feature that I really enjoy using. The jog wheel will
let you scroll up and down and select the number o men you wish to move in
one quick step.
One of the aspects of the
game which required a lot of work and is still undergoing a lot of
development is the artificial intelligence behind the actions of your
opponents and the algorithm that goes into figuring out attack odds,
aggression points, aggression point values, and the use of one of the most
advances random number generators available to the Palm OS. The developers
at BLiT have really done a good job with making
the game play as challenging yet unbiased as they can.
A lot of effort has been
and continues to be put into improving this game and the customer support
has been top notch. If you read the forums concerning this game
you’ll find everyone who contacted BLiT’s
development team impressed with the quick and knowledgeable response. I
like to hear that about companies whose products I review…
Speaking of developments,
the current plans for AI enhancement are:
-> Fixing the AI
operations under MAX-12 mode. Currently, they give up the fight too easily.
-> Enhancements to the
medium AI. Currently, the medium AI is quick to form a treaty with you if
you are weak and the other enemy is strong. This leads weaker players to
feel like they're being entirely ignored by the game. Things will be
changed to make medium a little more likely to wipe you out than join
forces with you to attack someone else.
-> Big enhancements to
the Advanced AI so that it will clearly stand apart from the medium AI.
An entire year’s
worth of development plans are in the works. Features coming up in the next
couple of updates include the ability to name your player, a high score
system, a victory screen, and, in the very near future, the ability to play
on black and white screens. Remember: if you register it before the end of
this month you will get all these upgrades at the introductory price…
Overall I have been
extremely impressed with this game and look forward to the enhancements and
added features that will be added in the future. These guys are working
very hard at making Aggression one of the very best games designed for the
Palm OS. You know what? They just might succeed….
Score:
Quality: 100
Stability: 90
Originality: 100
Looks: 100
Value: 100
TOTAL: 98
(Note: The only reason
this game did not receive a perfect score is due to its developmental
status. I expect it to be extremely stable with the next release or two so
please take that into consideration when viewing this score…)
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