GUNS UP!™

Strategy games has made its complicated way to mobile devices and back again. The first iteration was a “tower defense” (TD) type of games, summoned to life by strong limitations of the mobile hardware. Then it sprang as a standalone genre and obtained its own features, and, fully armed with them, returned to PC or consoles.

Guns Up! Is just that kind of games. An advanced TD game with both offensive and defensive modes has a lot to offer to this genre fan. Available in Steam store, it can be downloaded for free from Steam website or desktop application. PlayStation fans were the first to enjoy Guns Up!, but now it’s available much wider.

Graphics: 4/5

It was surely made for the purpose: your units have no individual traces. Even unit types can be told mostly be the weapons they hold. They all look like silhouettes, both your own and enemies. Yet the movements are quite natural, and shooting and explosions are very spectacular.

The environment is pseudo-3D (in fact it’s 2D, but the perspective allows you to see them like chess figures), and it’s drawn beautifully, even with some excessive details. The ground is always much wider than the battlefield itself, and it gives the player an impression of endless possibilities (though, in fact, those are found in store section).

In Settings, you can select your screen resolution, turn on/off some effects and (the most noticeable option) enable or disable blood on the battlefield. We should also mention great sound and good localization: the game is translated into most popular languages, thanks to Sony.

And it all takes less than 2 GB of your HDD.

Gameplay: 5/5

If you have ever played Clash of Clans or something like that, you won’t get lost in Guns Up! Even if you play it for the first time. The idea is the same. You build your military camp with defensive buildings and centers for training soldiers. It also allows you to upgrade them or summon special forces (bombs, rockets, tear gas clouds, landing reinforcements).

Thus, the game always follows Tower Defense tracks. There is an attacking side that goes through a predefined road, and there is a defending side that sends its troops and sets defensive objects against the attackers. Your role changes constantly: you may attack random enemies or be attacked. As the game requires being online, your base can be the target.

Attacks are held in a simple way. Your truck mover slowly towards the enemy base, and when you’re ready, you command your soldiers ahead. You can send reinforcements when you’re available. As you send a unit, you can’t control it anymore, it acts independently. But sometimes (when you have this option) you can select the primary targets to concentrate the fire. The battle is over when you destroy your enemy’s command center or run out of time trying.

Ammunition is the main currency in the militarized world of Guns Up. Yet there are some extra types of resources (dynamite and gold) used for special purposes. You can use dynamite to remove landscape elements and clear building sites. Gold is necessary for some purchases.

And yes, there are alliances and group policy so that we can attack or defend ourselves together with your alliance mates. Yes, the enemies can stand united too, and it provides even more fun.

Controls: 4.5/5

In fact, you can move your keyboard away while playing Guns Up. Though actions can be duplicated by keys, you can get the same effect with nothing but a mouse. No need for a special gaming mouse, a regular one will do.

The keys for any action are listed in Controls section in Settings. Building and fighting modes offer different actions for the same sets of keys, that are mostly WASD and numeric ones. There is also controller/joystick support (and no wonder, as the game was initially released for Sony PS4.

Objects (units, buildings, menu elements) react to your commands quickly, even if your hardware is not the latest.

Replay Value: 2/5

In this kind of games, you never have to start over (unless you start with a new account and the game is an outstanding one for you). Your progress can be saved in your Steam cloud if you activate it in Steam application. And it’s worth it, because, as you unlock new units and buildings, new cards and powerups, the initial levels will seem dull to you. The only good thing is they are quick to pass. But later levels may seem too long and maybe a test for your patience, so we go to the next thing...

In-app purchases

Though you always can gain any resources, war is constantly hungry, so there’s never enough. The more gold you purchase, the cheaper it gets. 500 gold can be bought for $4.99, 7500 gold for $49.99. The purchases are processed by Steam, you don’t need to re-enter your credentials.

A perfect choice if you’re new to strategy games or prefer mobile entertainment, but with its features, you (and your wallet) may dislike.

• Graphics 4
• Gameplay 5
• Controls 4.5
• Replay Value 2

Pros

Free to play (though...)
Good graphics with its unique style
Advanced upgrade and powerup system
Integrated with Steam
Translated into many languages

Cons

Battle part may seem too simple for an oldschool RTS fan
The progress gets slower making you want to accelerate