Game Reviews

Wizards and Wagons - You take the high road, I'll take a heavy load

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iOS
| Wizards and Wagons
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Wizards and Wagons - You take the high road, I'll take a heavy load
|
iOS
| Wizards and Wagons
Is that a tower defence game?

Er, sort of. But mainly not. This is Wizards and Wagons. It's a mix of tower defence, strategy, trading, and inventory juggling.

Okay, how does all of that fit together?

The story goes that you're a former hero. You conquered some great evil, but now there's nothing left to kill, you're down on your luck, and despite all of the statues in your honour, you're running out of cash. Then a wizard gives you a wagon and you become a trader.

Right, that sort of makes sense I guess

It does. You travel from city to city, filling up your wagon with goods at one and then dropping them off, hopefully for a profit, at the next. Your cart is sort of like a Resident Evil inventory screen, with each item having its own shape.

So it's a bit like a puzzler

A bit like one, yeah. You need to shuffle things around to make sure you're making the most money from your journey. And you have to fit in your weapons as well - they have their own colour coded spaces, and if they're not in them you can't use them.

Okay, so what happens when you're travelling?

You get attacked. By bandits, monsters, and other ne'er-do-wells. Your wagon rolls along the road automatically, and you tap to fire your arrows and spells. It's surprisingly tough, and if you're not careful you'll get your stock nicked and your transport destroyed.

I'm guessing you can fix it though

Indeed. There are blacksmiths in the towns you visit who'll hammer out the dents in your cart. But it costs quite a lot, so you need to make sure that you're not spending all the money you make from trading on making your wheels round again.

What else is there to do then?

Well, you're following the same basic mechanical core for most of the game, but you find yourself doing it for different reasons. There are plenty of quest-givers, and a guild that offers big rewards for completing tasks, but punishes you if you don't finish them in time.

It all sounds a bit like having a job

Yeah that's pretty accurate. There's a lot to take in in the first hour of play, and it can feel a lot like your first day at a new company. But even though there's a lot going on, it sometimes feels a little flat, and success is pretty tough.

Hmmm, worth a go?

There's something here, and if you like your mobile gaming slow paced and measured, you'll probably have a decent time. But sometimes it feels a little too much like you've missed out on the good stuff and been left with the drudge.

Wizards and Wagons - You take the high road, I'll take a heavy load

There are some neat ideas here, but a lot of uphill slog as well
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.