14 DAY TRIAL // Social games giant Zynga has just deployed a brand new game on the Facebook social network, in the form of Empires & Allies, a strategy combat title that promises to entice players with its own single-player campaign, not just focus on connections with friends and multiplayer.
Zynga has been recruiting a large number of industry veterans in order to diversify its portfolio, trying to release more successful games, not just relying on the income generated by FarmVille, FrontierVille or the recent, CityVille, which quickly became the most popular game on Facebook.
Now, with Empires & Allies, the company wants to go into uncharted territory, bringing a strategy game, with an emphasis on combat and more hardcore themes to the social network.
“Empires & Allies is strategy combat gone social – think CityVille meets Risk,” said Amer Ajami, executive producer of Empires & Allies at Zynga. “We’re focused on bringing our players a new form of entertainment and a strategy game is definitely a new playground for us. Play is in everyone’s DNA, and this game lets you have fun and get creative by choosing your own destiny, building a nation and eventually, conquering the world.”
The game is now officially live on Facebook, and comes in 12 languages, including English, French, Italian, Spanish or even Chinese or Korean.
The game tasks players with taking care of their own nation, which is part of a multi-island game board. They must amass technologies as well as armies and special forces in order to withstand enemy attacks, as well as go on the offensive against neighboring nations.
The main catch, however, is that the game not only asks you to connect with friends, in order to work together or take each other down, but also has a special single-player campaign, where you go up against AI-controlled opponents, a first for any Zynga game.
Check out the main features of Empires & Allies, as highlighted by Zynga, below.
Building an Empire - Feared by his allies and hated by his enemies, “The Raven” is an unapologetic tyrant who wanted his pet mascot to be an eagle, but he couldn't catch one. In a tirade, “The Raven” has destroyed your empire. Once the rubble from the attack on your empire is cleared, build your empire’s population back up. Build island huts, cottages, houses and more to collect rent to fund your expanding empire.
Mobilizing Your Troops - Get ready to fight “Captain Krunsch,” an old school seaman who relishes taking out his enemies the old-fashioned way--with his bare, arthritic hands. Build formidable ground, naval and air defense to protect your empire and beat those invaders back. Use Unit Research Laboratories to upgrade your armies and unlock new attack bonuses.
Fight With Friends! - Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Build up your troops, recruit your friends and send them out to invade in-game villains and advance the story line, or choose to invade your neighboring friends’ empires to collect Infamy Points. Strategically select from different ground, naval and air units to build your battalion based off their effectiveness against the opposing army. You might just want to unleash “Wingo,” a pilot who was born to fly – first class. His mama was a stewardess and his daddy made tiny pretzels for the airlines.
Guided Play - As the nation’s leader, you must build up your empire’s defenses to ward off “The Raven” and his evil minions. Scarlett, your personal military advisor, will always show you fun things to try next to guide you on building a powerful empire. Scarlet keeps an eye on all military functions. She’s seen it all. She knows there’s no “I” in “team.” Despite her mysterious past, she has the respect of her troops, who eagerly shout “Aye aye!” to every one of her orders. Once tasks are complete, you can unlock increasingly advanced buildings and decorations.
Neighboring Empires -Visit your neighbors’ empires to help them secure more energy, decorations and collectible items, gaining Honor Points along the way. Tending to your friends’ empires is a surefire way to speed up your progress and amass your army. Enlist your neighbors help in combat to quickly finish off your enemies with special attacks. And don’t forget to call on “The Admiral,” the most experienced fleet commander in the seven seas. His only limitation – his refusal to trim his eyebrows – makes it harder to find the port. Or the starboard. You can check out a trailer for Empires & Allies, which is now available to play on Facebook, below.