Saturday, 29 September 2012

Game Review: Elder Sign – Omens

Elder Sign – Omens is the mobile device game based on Elder Sign. I have the Android version, and it costs £2.50 in the UK. It is also available for the iPad and iPhone.

I have played Elder Sign a few times, and will be picking it up when I get the chance. I prefer Arkham Horror, but it just takes too long compared to the 45 mins of Elder Sign.

The Android version is very good. It is faithful to the board game, with just a few tweaks. It is set in a museum, all the events happening here. There are two Old ones to go up against, with a third, Cthulu himself, being a unlockable.

You have to go around completing encounters, some which give you items, some which advance the story and more difficult ones where you can get the Elder Signs used to seal the Old one, allowing you to win. There is still a time limit, and monsters appear as usual, usually right where you want to go next.

Encounters are resolved like in the board game, using glyphs that you conjure. You must match these to what the encounter requires, then you lose these for the other encounters in that part. You can get two extra glyphs, a red and a yellow if you have the correct items. Glyphs can also be locked to be used later on. It all sounds complicated, and is difficult to explain, but when you see it in action it becomes very easy.

This game however is hard. Very hard, but I feel this makes the game. There are lots of characters to choose from, and each plays differently with their abilities, so its a challenge just to find the best group for your play style. Being so hard as well, there is great re-playability. It is easy to get frustrated, but you must see where you are going wrong to improve at this game.

If you like the Arkham Horror series, or are a fan on H P Lovecraft, then I say this game is a must. Even if you have Elder Sign, then this will be great, as you will know how to play and can carry it around with you to play wherever you are.

A great mobile game, which surprised me somewhat. It is actually put out by Fantasy Flight, and I hope to see some more of their games come out on the mobile platform (multi player mobile Talisman?) For the small price, this is a great buy.

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