Astraware is the place to go for your handheld gaming and entertainment needs. With over 140 applications for most handheld platforms, Astraware is uniquely positioned to cater to anyone’s gaming and entertainment needs. Reviewing applications for Astraware can be a daunting task as they have such a wide range of diverse, quality applications. Over the years, Astraware has made their reputation by producing various genres of exciting and challenging games. Recently, they have included some of the best stable of applications for everyday use cementing their hold as “the home of handheld entertainment”.
Handmark’s Warfare, Incorporated is a multi-awarded, cross-platform dynamo that stretches the capabilities of your PDA to the max, with an engaging storyline, classic “good vs. evil” conflicts, sparkling graphics and fantastic game play.
Warfare, Incorporated is a futuristic look at super-corporations competing for the limited resources of the galaxy. The game centers on the planet Icarus which has a wealth of new-found minerals that will further empower the ACME Exploration Corporation. Users enter the game as a new executive of the ACME Exploration Corporation racing to find and gather as much mineral resources from the alien planet before your ruthless, rival competitors, OMNI Industries takes it from you.
Let me first say at the outset that I’ve never been a fan of real time strategy games. Whenever I’d watch these games in action, I thought that it was just too much to absorb and was a bit intimidated by the amount of information needed to understand, strategize, and conquer. It is to Handmark’s credit that Warfare, Incorporated created a very helpful and simple tutorial level at the initial stages of the game. I was able to pick up the game without much of a hitch. Of course, as the game progressed, the tactics and strategies needed as well as the resources available created more complex scenarios and required quicker thinking and much-more sophisticated stratagems.
Real Time Strategy games tend to be played on a much broader, sometimes more global playing field. Warfare, Incorporated is no exception. As an executive from the ACME Exploration Corporation, you call the shots. Your quick thinking and decision-making prowess determine how much success you garner for the corporation. But, there’s so much more at stake. Not only is your executive reputation on the line, but, so are the lives of the soldiers who protect the interests of ACME corporation. You call the shots as you manage your available resources to maximum capacity. Your sharp wit and the sharper decision-making will help you manage complete operations of mining the much-needed alien minerals. You determine how many buildings to erect, how many generators to install, how many soldiers to create, where to place them, when to place them, when to attack, when to defend, etc.
There is no hesitation or unnecessary pauses as the beefy, detailed graphics smoothly scroll across the screen as you move in all directions. The digital sounds resonate loud and clear and further heighten the tension. There is a map in the lower corner that allows you to move from place to place. Moreover, when that map is flooded with red, you know that the enemy has invaded an area you’ve possibly overlooked and you need to high-tail it back and defend your base!
Users can adjust the game’s speed to be as slow or hyper-kinetic as you want. One of the fantastic additions to the game is the Missions Editor. Users can download top-notch authored game levels from a worldwide network of contributors who are passionate about the game. These levels can range from moderate game play to extremely challenging. If you want to give yourself a go at creating one, you have that option as well. The Missions Editor is free for all Warfare, Inc. players to use. With the Missions Editor at hand, you are setting yourself up for endless amount of entertaining game play. Here’s a list of features from the developer:
Handmark’s list of features:
• Endless gameplay
• Top-notch user authored missions
• Heart-pounding multiplayer support
• Join with up to 4 players over WiFi or Bluetooth on 21 multiplayer battlefields
• Cross platform multiplayer supported...and encouraged!
• 14 single player missions
• 6 bonus missions
• Mission Editor for creating new single and multiplayer missions
• Dozens of free user-contributed missions available online
• 2 alien landscapes
• 11 military units
• 11 building types
• 4 channel digitized sound effects
• Stunning graphics
• All Palm OS® resolutions supported
• Colour and greyscale supported
I have played a lot of games over the years, but nothing even comes close to the entertaining game play of Warfare, Incorporated. This game has definitely set the bar for RTS for the Palm OS and, dare I say, for all games in general.
You can find out more about Handmark’s Warfare, Incorporated from the Astraware site here! Make sure you leave yourself some ample time to download and test drive the software…you’ve gonna get hooked!! You’ve been forewarned!
