Previews

Hands on with UniWar on iPhone

New turn-based game goes to war this month

Hands on with UniWar on iPhone

Gymnasts have the unitard and 3G generals have UniWar. Strategic flexibility without the embarrassing uniform, the game blends the turn-based tactical play of Advance Wars with the science-fiction style of Supreme Commander. It builds upon the straightforward mechanics of Nintendo's handheld classic with a unique range of units and abilities, the bite-sized portions of that game refined ever more in this iPhone original.

Despite offering short sessions of strategic play, UniWar engenders an epic feel that promises a lasting appeal. Three races – Sapiens, Khraleans, and Titans – battle each other through the course of single-player campaign, complemented by a suite of alternate modes including full online multiplayer. This extends the potential value of the game, ensuring a never-ending source of competitive play well after you've single-handedly saved the universe.

Were it not for rock-solid gameplay, though, there would be no reason to draft yourself in online battles. UniWar looks to strike a balance between accessibility and depth, ease of play and tactical nuance. The basics are remarkably easy to learn; within minutes, you're drafting units on the hexagonal battlefield and contriving strategies to capture enemy bases for the win. Intuitive touch controls have you tapping units to move, attack, and access their special abilities. Sliding your finger across the screen is good enough to reposition the map, which can be viewed in either portrait or landscape mode on-the-fly.

Maps consist of interlocked hexagons on which you move units in one full turn. Eight different units can be commissioned from bases using resource money, each race possessing variations on the same core units. Light ground, heavy ground, aquatic, and aerial units support enormous tactical variety. Unit-specific abilities extend the possibilities. Engineers, for example, can hack mechanical foes and flip them to your side. Mecha have the ability to teleport across a map, though at the cost of being inactive through the next turn.

These abilities must be weighed against a slate of other concerns including terrain, enemy strength and unit type, and special rules. UniWar wisely diversifies its terrain with nine different types ranging from forest to desert to mountains. Naturally, terrain has an impact on unit defence; situated atop a mountain, a unit will gain a defencive bonus at a loss of mobility.

Enemy units obviously play an enormous role in dictating strategy, your actions influenced by their units in play. The balance among units is well-tuned and noticeable. Sending infantry in to battle a tank, for instance, has dire consequences for your men. As such, you're pushed into leveraging specific units against your foes.

Special rules also impact battlefield tactics, providing UniWar with an additional layer of depth. For example, flanking an enemy unit is made difficult by the concept of unit area of control. Every lays claim to the immediate space surrounding it; as a result, you can't easily move a unit around an enemy unless it has extended mobility to walk around the unit's area of control. It's just one example of how the game seeks a more thoughtful strain of strategy.

The phenomenal balance between accessibility and strategic sophistication promises to put UniWar among the best in the genre. It's this well-designed gameplay that makes the prospect of online multiplayer exciting and gives significance to the slew of features packed into the game. UniWar will launch on the App Store within the next couple weeks, at which time we'll have a full review.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.