Developed and produced by Good Mood Games, Eyes of War is a real-time strategy game set in the medieval era, offering both single-player and multiplayer experiences where you can control every unit in character mode.
The RTS Genre are almost as old as computers themselves. Safe to say that every idea you can think of has been done. Imagine my surprise, when I started playing Eyes of War and mid-battle, it went from a top-down point-and-click to a dodge-rolling hack and slash extravaganza. Oddly, Eyes of War captures war in a rare, realistic way.
Every Soldier’s a Pawn
On the front, Eyes of War is a simpler Age of Empires. The basic gameplay is the same: you take control of an army, manage scavenging, defences and lead to a fight. However, everything takes a huge turn when the battles truly begin.
In Eyes of War, you can take control of any one of your soldiers. The transition is seamless, and you can switch to other soldiers by simply pressing ‘E’ in their direction.
If you remember, Ultimate Battle Simulator had a very similar mechanic that allowed you to take control of your soldiers. It was a fun gimmick that Eyes of War has pushed to its full capabilities.
Types of Play in Eyes of War
Of course, the ability mechanic does not only play on the war side of things. There are a few modes you can play in Eyes of Wa,r and each mode is amazing in itn way.
- Strategy Mode
In war mode, you and your opponent start with a castle, a few guards, a horse and some money. This is the default Age of Empires-esque game mode and plays exactly as you would expect.
You gather resources and build barracks, stables, mines, etc. Ultimately, you get an army, and you go to war.
- Battle Mode
In Battle mode, you don’t have to build or mine any resources. As the name implies, you start with an army of 200+ men, you get to pick what types of soldiers you get.
Next, you create a formation, give instructions, and ideally take over a soldier to lead the charge.
I find this mode to be thrilling. It captured the feeling of ancient warfare quite nicely.
- Arena Mode
Finally, you have the Arena.
No armies, no buildings, no large-scale strategies. Just Fighting!
In this mode, you select 5 soldiers. 2 teams of two and 1 single soldier. The game is a best of 5. The first 2 games are 2v2 and (if needed) a final 1v1 fight.
Not the best mode of Eyes of War, but it’s a very fun one.
Multiplayer Problems
Now that the glazing is out of the way, I think it is time to consider the shortcomings of Eyes of War.
For one, there is no story mode, nor single player mode, nothing of the sort. You can play rounds with Bots but not having a proper story mode is big miss for me.
Another issue, I pondered over sharing, was the lack of match making or public servers. I feel this may be an early game issue and we will have some sort of way to play Randoms in the future but for now, Eyes of War only has Lan Play.
Eyes of Bloody War!
All in all, Eyes of War brings a fun spin to the RTS genre with its seamless blend of strategy and action. The ability to jump into the shoes of any soldier mid-battle is something you don’t see every day, and it spices up the experience.
Sure, the lack of a story mode and matchmaking can be a bit of a bummer, but if you’re into the tactical side of things and love getting your hands dirty in the heat of battle, there’s still a lot to enjoy here. It’s got its quirks, but Eyes of War deserves a spot on your radar.
