Hot off of the heels of Stormfall: Age of War and Viking: War of Clans comes the latest entry from Plarium, Throne: Kingdom of War. Adopting an MMORTS system similar to their other entries, this is one of those cases where the developers know exactly what they are after, chasing after it with practised precision and expertise. So what set’s this apart from its contemporaries, and is this a game which we feel we could recommend?
Gameplay
If you’ve been following the most popular types of mobile games, then you should be immediately familiar with the base-building elements of Throne. Starting with a small and struggling kingdom, you help you citizens with building both administrative and resource buildings. These resource buildings allow the standard collection of food, lumber, iron, and stone as your administrative buildings allow you improve resource gains, train units, modify equipment or engage in a wide range of other base-supporting activities.
Following the customisation of your hero, they must be equipped with gear both found and created, which can improve both their individual abilities and the skill and strength of your other units. Players are then given the ability to group up with others into orders, which is where the community and social aspects really start to come into play. You can battle opponent’s empires by yourself, or group up with those in your order to engage in bigger battles and raids to get a handle on what the combat system really has to offer.
This leads us to the game-loop of fighting, collecting and upgrading, as you try to increase your overall capacities and become the strongest kingdom of all.
Graphics
One of the areas where this game really stands out is the graphics. Avoiding the simplified and overly cartoonish style which earlier MMORTS games adopted out of the necessities of the time’s limited processing power, Throne: Kingdom at War is fully adapted to the power of modern smartphones, giving a much crisper look and sound than many of its contemporaries. From the characters themselves to the look of your kingdom and the overall map screen, Throne adopts a look which takes obvious inspiration from the Middle Ages of Western Europe. Highly detailed, these are some of the best graphics we have seen in any mobile game, let alone an MMORTS, so those interested in something attractive should not pass this one up.
Worth Playing?
As is typical with media, your enjoyment of Throne: Kingdom at War really comes down to the type of games which you prefer. If you are a big fan of MMORTS games then we can absolutely recommend you give this one a shot, likewise if you are a fan of games that let you play a few minutes at a time whenever you have a spare moment.
While it’s not strictly historically accurate when it comes to how it wears its inspiration, fans of medieval Europe should be immediately pleased with the game and its setting. Throne: Kingdom at War is not just a great mobile strategy game, we’d say it’s quite an interesting game overall.
