Star Wars: Force Arena
Star Wars: Force Arena | |
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Developer(s) | Netmarble Monster |
Publisher(s) | Netmarble |
Series | Star Wars |
Platform(s) | Android, iOS |
Release | January 12, 2017 shut down: January 12, 2019 |
Genre(s) | Strategy |
Star Wars: Force Arena is a discontinued 2017 Star Wars-themed player versus player real-time strategy mobile game from Netmarble and Lucasfilm Games, involving characters and military units that appeared in all major Star Wars film installments released before 2019. Players command various Star Wars military units in a card-powered multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). It was released on January 12, 2017, for Android and iOS.
It received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. On the game's first anniversary it had reached 6.5 million players. Servers were shut down on January 12, 2019, and the game was removed from digital storefronts. Critics gave high marks for the game's graphical and sound presentation. Gameplay reception was mixed. Reviewers generally praised the MOBA aspects of the game, but were more critical of card collecting aspects. There was also division in regards to digital purchases. Some critics felt no need to spend money on the game, while others noted it suffered from pay-to-win mechanics prevalent in mobile games.
Gameplay
Early versions of Force Arena were set in the
Every squad is headed by a leader character, which has a special ability that the player can reuse at will
Development and legacy
Star Wars: Force Arena was developed by Korean studio Netmarble and published in conjunction with Lucasfilm Games. It was announced in November 2016,[5] The game received a soft launch on November 4, 2016, in Australia and Singapore, where it was released under the title Star Wars: Battlegrounds.[8] The game was later showcased in November at G-Star 2016.[9] A full release followed on January 12, 2017, for iOS and Android.[3][10] For Star Wars Day 2018 two 40th anniversary characters were released based on Ralph McQuarrie's concept art: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.[11] On December 19, 2018, it was announced that the game would be shutting down on March 18, 2019. The game was no longer available for download after January 17, 2019,[12] and the game shut down as scheduled.
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 78/100[13] |
Publication | Score |
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Gamezebo | [14] |
Pocket Gamer | [15] |
Star Wars: Force Arena received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13] On the game's first anniversary the developers revealed that the game had reached 6.5 million players.[16]
Gameplay aspects received mixed impressions from critics. Reviewers generally praised the MOBA aspect of the game. iMore's Luke Filipowicz stated that "I always felt I had the opportunity to win, even in the matches where I would get trampled by my opponent."[7] Android Central's Mark Lagace similarly lauded the battles, noting "the strategy and action it delivers in battle is as good as it gets."[6] Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer noted that the three minute timed rounds lead "to some excellent, frantic battling."[15] Other critics gave high marks for the game's short battles.[14] Inversely the star card mechanics were often a point of criticism. Lagace noted that when aside from the MOBA battles Force Arena "is but another card collecting game."[6] Some critics took note that the game did not require players to purchase cards with real-world currency in order to succeed. "I never felt the need to make in-game purchases" noted the reviewer from Yahoo! Life.[17] iMore's Luke Filipowicz disagreed. "If you want to reach the top of the leaderboard, you'll have to spend money", he stated in his review.[7]
The graphics and sound were universally praised by reviewers.
References
- ^ Mayhew, Ash (August 17, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena just got 16 new iconic characters". DroidGamers. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Compendio, Chris (November 9, 2017). "Kylo Ren and Rey Finally Join Mobile Game Star Wars: Force Arena". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c Brooks, Dan (January 12, 2017). "Dream Teams: How Star Wars: Force Arena Puts You in Control of the Galaxy's Greatest". StarWars.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ Netmarble Games. Retrieved July 26, 2017 – via StarWarsForceArena.com.
- ^ a b Minotti, Mike (November 17, 2016). "Star Wars: Force Arena for mobile sure looks like a MOBA". VentureBeat. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Lagace, Mark (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review". Future plc. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Filipowicz, Luke (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review: The hectic MOBA is enjoyable and imperfect". Future plc. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ 정필권 기자 (2016-11-04). "[뉴스] 다스베이더 골라서 한판? 넷마블, '스타워즈: 배틀그라운드' 소프트론칭" (in Korean). inven.co.kr.
- ^ kongbakpao (2016-11-08). "Star Wars™: Battlegrounds – Soft Launch". kongbakpao.com.
- AdWeek. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ Vincent, Britney (May 4, 2018). "Celebrate Star Wars Day with Star Wars: Force Arena". Shacknews. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ Acebedo, Bayani Miguel (19 December 2018). "Star Wars: Force Arena is Shutting Down". Epicstream. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Star Wars: Force Arena for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ^ a b c Tylwalk, Nick (January 16, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena Review". Gamezebo. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Slater, Harry (January 12, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review - A MOBA from a galaxy far, far away". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Chan, Stephanie (January 16, 2018). "Star Wars: Force Arena turns 1 with 6.5 million players for its card-based battler". VentureBeat. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ Yahoo staff (January 26, 2017). "Review: 'Star Wars: Force Arena', A New Mobile Game for Star Wars Fans". Yahoo! Life. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Star Wars: Force Arena on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki