Social Wars is a Facebook take on a RTS (real-time strategy) game that places you in command of Earth’s defenses during an alien invasion. There is a single player campaign and PvP (player versus player) elements that offer more of a mixed bag than RTS games who only specialize in one type of gameplay or the other. Social Wars won’t be taking over as any hardcore RTS gamer’s favorite, but it does have most of the features that are seen in common games from the genre.
Facebook has become famous or infamous, depending on how you see it, for its building simulation games. Everyone has heard of Farmville and Cityville, and these games have been remade with many different skins. However, that type of gameplay was seen much earlier in RTS games where players had to build up a base or structure over time using resources. The only factor that separated the two genres of games was the combat aspect of RTS games. That is exactly what keeps Social Wars from just being another Farmville remake.
There are plenty of features in Social Wars that will be familiar to veterans of Facebook building simulation games. There is a very similar cartoon style of animation that is seen in many Facebook games. Buildings need to be constructed within a grid using resources that can either be produced or mined. There are many small quest objectives to complete for rewards and to teach new players how the game works. There is even a bonus for logging into the game on consecutive days. All of these aspects will make the game feel similar to many other Facebook titles. However, the combat elements are where the real fun lies.
Social Wars combines both single player campaigns and the PvP combat that is so readily available on a social platform like Facebook. Players will start off just building up their bases by constructing buildings, gaining resources and recruiting troops. However, the quests quickly direct you to the alien troops and structures that are around your base. Then you can take matters into your own hands by sending your troops directly to enemy encampments or you can follow the special mission system (not to be confused with the small quest objectives) that will send your troops to specific engagements with the invading aliens and progress a storyline. For some of these special missions, you’re troops will be transported right to a large enemy base camp that needs to be wiped out or an alien officer who needs to be dealt with. On top of these skirmishes, you can also bring the battle to fellow players with the PvP options.
In the PvP map, each player is placed on an island with several other random players. For a limited amount of time each day, players can spy on or attempt to conquer neighboring players. You can also gather intelligence and attack other islands to expand your dominance and earn resources. To keep things friendly, very little is actually lost when attacking other players and it’s completely optional.
There are many different types of buildings and troops that you can acquire in Social Wars to increase your offensive and defensive prowess. Each building has a specific use, and each unite has unique stats. The stats of each unit determine how fast it attacks, how much damage the attacks do, how far the attacks reach and how fast the unit moves. Individual units can level up by attacking aliens and further increase their stats.
Social Wars was better than I expected from a RTS game on Facebook, but the deep strategy that some RTS games include won’t be found here. For most people, that’s a blessing, since some RTS games can take dozens of hours just to learn how to properly play. However, Social Wars has all of the elements necessary for players to enjoy an easy to pick up RTS game for free.
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