What I'm playing: Battleheart

Starting this month I'm going to write about what I've been playing lately and my thoughts on that game.

Caveat: I'm not a games journalist so what I'm playing is entirely down to what I've picked up recently, had recommended through podcasts or friends.

iPhone: Battleheart
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/battleheart/id394057299?mt=8

I picked up this game recently and it has been a great little purchase. I haven't sunk a huge amount of time into it yet but I'm enjoying what I've bought.

Battleheart is a game where you micromanage four characters on screen (with others in your virtual stable) and their abilities at a time to defeat zombies, spiders, trolls and a number of other enemies. The presentation is a simple 2D affair with your characters on a fixed battlefield and enemies appearing from the left or right.

Defeating enough enemies in a stage you will earn XP, money and a few items. Characters begin with a base ability and as they level up new talents are unlocked. The game also features a fairly simple inventory management system and armor / upgrade system that has you purchasing items to upgrade their abilities.

The combat is simple but satisfying, selecting a character and drag a selection to an enemy (if a combat unit) or to a friendly (if a healer) performs the basic ability and that action alone will get you through the first few levels at least.

So far all seems well. There are a series of stages (I'm still in the first series progressing through) and my characters are levelling up nicely gaining experience, items and better weapons, armour and abilities. One particular feature I'm liking is that each characters special talents can be swapped while at the menu screens, so if you find yourself up against the wall on a certain stage you can try swapping in some other abilities.

The graphical style is quite pretty and reminiscent of old flash games with the overly shaded characters (think homestarrunner). It's a style I enjoy, the animations are really fluid and satisfying and each ability has an appropriate little particle effect that makes it all the more satisfying to spam the crap out of fireball.

So far: small and satisfying and bite sized enough (each map only takes a few minutes to complete) that I can play a round during builds at work or while I've got a few minutes to kill.