It’s quite rare that we take time out of our busy schedule to take a look at an Android game, but this is REVIEWMAGEDDON and all everything is on the table. Driland is part of a common group of usually micro-transaction supported card game genre that is becoming more and more common. It is based out of the GREE platform, which operates in a similar fashion as Steam, but for mobile devices. So is the game worth the time to download, is it something you will find yourself spending time on? Or is it just a waste of time and money (if micro-transactions are your type of thing)?

The concept of Driland is very simple, you adventure throughout dungeons, collecting hunter cards and items to improve your team, while also gaining small amounts of bells (the currency in the game). Now when I say that you adventure through jungles, I mean you press a button that says “Quest” while your stamina decreases at a set rate, depending on the dungeon you are in. Each time you quest, you are given a trash item, a helpful item, a hunter card or an enemy encounter. Fighting enemies involves taking your 3 “party cards” and making them “fight” the enemy. You usually lose a little bit of health upon fighting, which seems really inconsequential but after you get to a boss, it can be a pretty big deal. Bosses have you take your 3 characters and also chose 2 allied characters in a much larger and damaging showdown. If you win, you get experience and bells, if you lose, enjoy going all the back to the start, unless you want to use some items. The truth about Driland is that it really isn’t much of a game at all, it’s more like a web-based slot machine. Yet, even as a limited form of entertainment, it does just that. All in all, questing is really just a time killer. You don’t get too much from it (other than in rare event dungeons) and the biggest draw of the game makes this serve as a small distraction.

Where you really find action in the game is through the Dire Monster events. Every few weeks, an event occurs where you build teams of cards and slay powerful monsters for chances at getting pretty awesome cards. The monsters get progressively more difficult as you defeat them, forcing you to reach out for the aid of the allies that you have recruited. These allies are other players that have either requested you or vice versa. You have a limit, so making sure your allies are responsive is a big deal. During these events, you get a real feel of the sense of community that Driland has. Yes, a simple game has a pretty impressive community.

The norm for communication with your allies and other players are by using “kudos”, which happen to be small blurbs that award both you and that player a few points and let you leave messages. These points are used to earn chances for new cards, so daily kudos are pretty important. There is also a GREE forum that can be accessed from your phone. This forum is a great place to meet experienced players, make trades, suggestions or simply just find out more about the game. While getting into the initial phases of the game, I asked a few questions about which Rare Hunters were worth investing into enhancing. I got great advice from the other players on the forum, learned a few tricks on how to make a more effective deck and even traded a few cards for better ones. For such a simplistic and basic game, it’s shocking to see such a solid community supporting it. There is also PvP battle mode that has you simply fight against other players, it’s pretty expensive as far as force goes, so I only did it a few times.

Ultimately, Driland is quite fun. There is a lot that you can do, yet there really isn’t all that much game to go around. It’s something that is worth trying out, though, I’ve wasted small tidbits of free time questing and fighting monsters. If you have time to kill and want a quite game to play around with, Driland just may be the one for you.

Note: We are giving Driland a 5 for audio since it simply lacks it. Less would imply there was an issue with audio.

Graphics 70		Audio 50		Gameplay 80
Creativity 80		Execution 90		Offset 80

7.5

How do these ratings work? Click here for descriptions!

Pros:

In it’s limited form, it still is enjoyable, Even without buying card packs.
Awesome community
Doesn’t require almost any commitment

Cons:

There is absolutely no sound
A few little bugs can get slightly irritating
Those microtransactions can certainly help you enjoy the game more

As e3 approaches, many hints and mysteries have begun to show up regarding so of our favorite games. Riot Game’s League of Legends is no exception to this, in the past few months there have been small hints and clues that have been discovered by the community. While no official word has been said on what to expect, let’s take a look at some of the more realistic expectations.

Supremacy:

Not too long ago, a few eagle eyed members of the League of Legends community noticed that Riot had acquired domain names like www.leagueoflegendssupremacy.com and www.supremacy.com. This in itself was enough to keep the community interest piqued but many pointed out that acquiring names is also common in “just in case” they a company decided to move forward on a new project but didn’t mean there would be any guarantees. Well, League of Legends: Supremacy has officially been trademarked by Riot Games, just in time for e3, so what could it possibly be?

Riot has dropped hints a few times that they have had interest in mobile development, one solid possibility is that Supremacy could indeed be a brand new game for mobile devices. While it would seem unrealistic that a version of League of Legends could bring it’s current style of gameplay to the mobile market it isn’t far fetched that Riot, a company with Free to Play success, could develop a new mode of sorts to make use of social networks to create another way to draw players in.

Many players are hoping that Supremacy could be a brand new game mode, joining the current PvP options of Summoner’s Rift (5v5), Twisted Treeline (3v3) and last year’s Dominion (territories). Something that has been often requested is a form of PvE or an ARAM (all middle all random) game mode that officially let’s players find a different and challenging way to play an already great game. Another popular theory is that as the multiple nations that represent Runeterra grow with champions, a lore driven and faction based mode could make an appearance. This seems the most likely as League of Legends’ lore based newsletter has come to a close last week but Riot has stated they would find other ways to continue lore. The possibility of seeing a new game mode seems likely, but if we know anything about Riot Games, they have a flair for the dramatic announcement. I wouldn’t be surprised if Supremacy is something that no one even expects.

Draven, the Glorious Executioner:

Last week, the website sm1rtpick.com (link doesn’t work any longer) and reddit uncovered files regarding a new character. Draven, the Axe Thrower (at the time) appears to be a new ranged AD (attack damage) champion that has an affinity for dramatic flair. Soon after this revelation, Riot themselves unveiled the artwork for this mysterious character and confirmed some of the info on him. Draven is the brother of the most recently released champion, Darius, and seems to be quite the flashy fellow (see pic). According to the info dug up, these are his stats:

Wicked Blades Draven’s Critical Strikes deal bonus physical damage over time. Spinning Axe also causes this effect even if it does not Critically Strike.

Spinning Axe (Q) Draven’s next attack will deal bonus damage. This axe will ricochet off the target high up into the air. If Draven catches it, he automatically readies another Spinning Axe. Draven can have two Spinning Axes at once.

Blood Rush (W) Draven gains increased Movement Speed and Attack Speed. The Movement Speed bonus decreases rapidly over its duration. Catching a Spinning Axe will refresh the cooldown of Blood Rush.

Stand Aside (E) Draven throws his axes, dealing physical damage to targets hit and knocking them aside. Targets hit are slowed.

Whirling Death (R) Draven hurls two massive axes to deal physical damage to each unit struck. Whirling Death slowly reverses direction and returns to Draven after striking an enemy champion. Draven may also activate this ability while the axe is in the flight to cause it to return early. Deals less damage for each unit it hits and resets when the axes reverse direction.

Champion Stats:

Range: 525

Move Speed: 305 Base Armor: 16

Armor level: 3.3

Base Mana: 240

Mana level: 42

Base Cricical %: 0

Critical % level: 0

Base Mana Regen: 1.39

Mana Regen Level: 0.13

Base Health Regen: 1

Health Regen Level: 0.14

Base Magic Resistance: 30

Magic Resistance Level: 0

Base Health: 420

Health Level: 82

Base Attack: 46.5

Attack Level: 3.5

Defense: 5

Magic: 3

Difficulty: 4

Lore: ’The best’ is wherever I decide to set the bar each day.’ Unlike his brother Darius, victory in battle was never enough for Draven. He craved recognition, acclaim, and glory. He first sought greatness in the Noxian military, but his flair for the dramatic went severely under appreciated. Thirsting for a method to share ”Draven” with the world, he turned his attention to the prison system. There he carved out the celebrity he desired by turning the tedious affair of executions into a premiere spectacle. At Draven’s first execution, he shocked onlookers when he ordered the doomed prisoner to run for dear life. Just before the man managed to flee from sight, Draven brought him down with a flawless throw of his axe. Soon, all Draven’s executions became a gauntlet through which Noxian prisoners raced for a final chance at life. He used this trial as his own personal stage, and turned executions into a leading form of entertainment. He rallied onlookers into a frenzy, while desperate prisoners scrambled to evade him. They never succeeded. Rejecting the solemn, black uniforms of Noxian executioners Draven donned bright outfits and developed flashy signature moves to distinguish himself. Crowds flocked to see Draven in action, and tales of his performances spread quickly. As his popularity grew, so did his already-inflated ego. He belonged at the center of attention. Before long, the scope of his ambitions outgrew the population of Noxus. He decided that the glorious exploits of Draven should be put on display for the entire world

The guy sounds like a handful for counterpicks and also a potential replacement for older characters like Sivir and Olaf. I would not be surprised to see Draven’s Genghis Khan-looking self make an appearance at e3. If he is up, you can bet I’ll be taking him out for some bottom lane carry.

Morello’s Mysterious AP Champion:

Lead Champion Designer Morello has let a little tidbit out about his first champion that he designed himself, apparently it is a female AP caster. Fans of League lore have been hoping to see veteran champ Kassadin’s daughter for some time. She is also a victim of void exposure, so it would fit in line to see another void based champ make an appearance. If she is indeed at e3, we’ll get all the info we can!

Gaming has come a long way in past years from going from PC to console, then to portable console. Now we have mobile gaming which is in itself moving forward in leaps and bounds. Now not only can you get emulators for the consoles of yesteryear but there is also high quality games being developed specifically for mobile devices.

Dream:scape is the latest addition to the iOS app store to use the Unreal game engine. It has a lot to live up to especially when you look at Infinity Blade which was a runaway success and also developed using Unreal technology.

When you first get started with Dream:scape you’ll notice how bizarre the game is with very little help. You are in a strange world revealed by an unnamed scarecrow to be your dreamscape. Neither alive nor dead you set out with your journal into the open world to try and piece together memories and work out why you are there. The controls can be a bit awkward at times with the virtual joysticks sometimes not appearing when you first touch the screen and this can soon become very tiresome.

The game plays well, on the whole, but has been experiencing some crashing issues on iPad. To avoid this, a simple restart of the device seems to do the trick in the majority of cases–but for some instances it has made the game unplayable on several occasions. There is however now an update which appears to solved most peoples issues. As you move around you will notice how beautiful the environment actually is but there are flaws in the scenery. A lot of the time as you approach areas which look lovely from afar they will begin to seem flat and blurred.

During your time in the dreamscape you will head to multiple areas including a barn, clubhouse and even an airport still as you remember them from your younger years when you were growing up. If you try to head down to the lake marked on your map then you will be forced back by a disembodied ordering you to “Go away”. There are other obstacles blocking your way to locations ranging from a vulture to a dog to a driverless car; all of these have ways of getting past by using an item. As you progress however you will have to swipe the screen to defeat some enemies and this is the games undoing. The interface for this is horrible and immensely temperamental with you telling yourself over and over that you made it, you probably did, despite some people saying try it on the bottom left, right or where the arrow appears there is no rhyme or reason to it working or not.

The story the game paints is a good one, but it is very short. Had the controls not been so horrible I’d have got maybe two hours out of it instead of three. It tells the story of you, your best friend and the girl you both love. But this isn’t some crappy, forties style romcom–the tale leads through to tell of betrayal and insanity with the culmination ending with you being forced into the dreamscape of a crazy man. This second dreamscape is short lived but noticeably different to your own with all the same places remembered but they are distorted along a single track. However bizarre it is, it does show off its graphical capabilities well.

Overall, as an independent project which seems to have been a one man show with help from a few friends, the story is fun and really, that’s what it is–more interactive story than game. But it’s far from Heavy Rain and could have been improved with a longer storyline which I hope to see in future updates.

Graphics 70		Audio 85		Gameplay 50
Creativity 80		Execution 60		Offset 60

6.8

How do these ratings work? Click here for descriptions!

Pros

Well-structured story
A nice change especially with the way the game sets the moods of the characters
Good environment to be walking around

Cons

Far too short
Some graphics look terrible up close
Horrible interface for some of the interactive parts within the game

Dream:scape is available now for iPod touch, iPhone and iPad from the apple app store.

Gaming Irresponsibly

Review – Driland (Android)

Review – Dream:scape (iOS)