Castle Conqueror EX for the Nintendo 3DS eShop is a very simple game to understand and play, but some of the swings in difficulties makes the game too easy one moment and painfully difficult the next.
The game is simple enough. You start off by selecting one or a handful of generals, each with unique bonus cards which you can use during the battle. Some of the boots which can be used include temporarily increasing the attack power of your units or boosting the defense of your castles. These are useful during the battles, when you remember to use them.
The point of each level is to eliminate and capture all of your opponent’s castles on the field of battle. To do this you will need to send your units from your own castles, which is easily done by connecting the two castles with a swipe of the stylus. When you do this you will send five units from your stronghold to your opponent’s, which will also reduce the number of units at your own castle and thus weaken its defense. Not to worry though, as you will slowly regenerate your units.
If your units and that of your enemy should cross paths along the way they will battle it out to the death. This is also helpful if your castle is being attacked. Send out a couple units and they will take the damage and not your stronghold.
This is the basics of the game and it isn’t really that tough.
Each battlefield has a different layout of castles, with some of them yours, some of them your enemy’s and the rest are neutral which you can take over. The more strongholds you have the more units will regenerate and the more easily of a time you will have defeating your enemy.
Some levels you will find you start with an even number of strongholds as your enemy and while they try to attack neutral castles you can do the same. You will often have an easier time doing this and then can attack their castles while they are distracted for an easy win. In other levels you start off with less castles and are very easily wiped off the map. This makes for a frustrating time.
As you win (or lose) battles you earn coins, which you can use to upgrade your commander and in essence your units. You can increase your units attack and defense, up their speed, increase the max number of units as well as the strength of your castles. This is definitely a good idea to do, especially when you run into a battle that seems unwinnable.
Overall the game is pretty fun, though very simple. It’s in the simplicity that can cause a hit to the enjoyment, because when you’re stuck trying to defeat a level and the game is as simple to play as it is, it can feel like a futile struggle to overcome.
Check it out if you like unit and conquering games. It’s not bad.
