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GAME REVIEW: ‘Pillage People’ – Bloodless Looting

 
pillage people boomzap
pillage people boomzap
pillage people boomzap

 
Overview
 

Published by: Boomzap Entertainment
 
Developed by: Boomzap Entertainment
 
Platform(s): Android, iOS
 
Genre(s): Strategy
 
Mode(s): Single/Multiplayer
 
Game Type: ,
 
FG RATING
80%
80/ 100


User Rating
8 total ratings

 

Raves


Gorgeous graphics, Respectful learning curve, Simple “tap-tap-tap” gameplay, Pun-ny name

Rants


Lack of direct control over units during battles, Takes a lot of time to get adjusted to, Does not show the “good stuff” until later levels


Bottom Line

For people of a certain age (full disclosure: like me *wah wah wah*), the reference to the ‘70s disco group Village People had certainly made me chuckle at the obvious cleverness of it. However, that is where all the similarities end; Pillage People is a non-stop romp of resource gathering and pillaging that will surely […]

1
Posted November 3, 2014 by

 
FULL REVIEW
 
 

pillage people boomzap

For people of a certain age (full disclosure: like me *wah wah wah*), the reference to the ‘70s disco group Village People had certainly made me chuckle at the obvious cleverness of it. However, that is where all the similarities end; Pillage People is a non-stop romp of resource gathering and pillaging that will surely please both audiences between the Farmville/Clash of Clans divide to settle into its groove quite nicely (and yes, I’m quite aware that no one’s playing Farmville now. But if you’ve got a better suggestion for this example, then by all means, hit up the comments section!).

Just like the two “social” games I’ve name-dropped above, Pillage People works on the most basic level at which most mobile games of its kind are known for: gather resources, build structures, train armies, and “pillage”. Yep, you’re actually encouraged to loot and sack not just villages that are near your level, but REAL ones that are maintained by players just like you.

Ethically speaking, I should have a problem with its primary gameplay concept: for such a fun-looking title, the fact that you’re basically goading your village to “survive” by attacking villages that are simply milling around their business—and yes, that even goes for the Goblin race too, you unrepentant fantasy racist—is a troubling impression to grasp, particularly when you think about how the game is obviously marketed towards people of all ages who know how to operate a smartphone.

However, that same gameplay concept provides the kind of unpredictability which gives it the necessary kind of “variety” for anyone playing the game. For instance, I had my level-4 Elf army attacked a lower-leveled Human village just as the latter was still constructing what I recall was a single fruit stock supply structure. Yes, those Humans had no chance against my Elves, but in doing so, I managed to reduce my casualties from battle. And really, there’s a huge chance that you’ll also do that same cold and calculating tactic against your online opponents because, let’s face it, you need to build up levels before you take on tougher foes, after all.

Pillage People android

Of course, that’s not to say that you’re immune from being struck with karma yourself: you need to constantly upgrade and add structures and defenses to your village just in case an errant player decides that your town contains enough booty to pilfer from (and no, I don’t mean THAT kind of booty). If all of these sounds too much like boring clockwork, then here’s an incentive: you only get to complete “quests” if you decide to do all of these things one or many at a time.

In the short time I’ve played my copy of Pillage People, I found how the resource-gathering, leveling, and combat actually complemented each other. The fighting, in particular, was very intuitive to the point that I found myself taking mental notes as to which races work best against each other akin to a rock-paper-scissor system; currently, there are only three classes, but it also offers you a chance to hire “mercenaries” from other races so as to give you time to build a more balanced unit. However, my only gripe about its combat is the fact that, once I have decided to unleash my units, I was unable to redirect them to where I want them to attack when, say, an Elf archer was sniping at them from a tower. That lack of control has proven to be frustrating for me at the start of my first battle, but the takeaway I had from this was that it wizened me up to where I should position my units and when I should let them loose on later battles.

There’s no question that you need to spend time with the game to acquire a learning curve that, while not exactly steep, can prove to be challenging to players like me who have little to no experience playing these types of mobile games before. And speaking of “time”, that is where the “social” constraints of the game are showing through. You can speed up construction of battlements and training of troops with the use of a “gem” currency (which you can also acquire when completing quests or winning battles). Of course, you can go willy-nilly and exhaust all of your gems on those tasks alone, but you’ll still find yourself waiting for a significant amount of time (in my case, for a day, at least) for anything to get finished. Of course, I have the option of buying all of those gems with real-world money, but I still appreciate the fact that I was not basically saddled at just a single level even if I refused to spend just forty pesos to get 10 gems.

Pillage People ios

It’s hard to judge what Pillage People has to offer at this point because, at level-5, I’m aware that I haven’t even completely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. However, even at this early of a playthrough, I’m confident I can say this: the graphics look very polished (SO polished, in fact, that you better prepare to sacrifice 500 MBs’ worth of space if you want to install it on your device); the sound design is impressive, though—no surprise—a bit repetitive; and, unlike a certain game I reviewed last week, there is no right or wrong way to play Pillage People. You simply play at your own pace, and—in my case, at least—I didn’t feel that I was the least bit punished for it. Of course, just remember that you should always be near a wi-fi when you do choose to boot up your copy of the game!

 

Get the game at the App Store here.

Get the game at the Google Play Store here.

Visit Boomzap Entertainment’s website here.


Joseph Batcagan

 
Copywriter by day, weekend warrior by... err, weekend. Amateur podcaster for IlonggoPop.com. Lapsed geek (but currently experiencing "remission"). Feels weird writing about himself in the third-person. @JBatcagan


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