Star Wars: Force Arena

Last updated
Star Wars: Force Arena
SW Force Arena.jpg
Developer(s) Netmarble Monster
Publisher(s) Netmarble
Series Star Wars
Platform(s) Android, iOS
ReleaseJanuary 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.

Contents

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

Force Arena was a real-time strategy game that could also be played online as a multiplayer online battle arena. Force arena gameplay.png
Force Arena was a real-time strategy game that could also be played online as a multiplayer online battle arena.

Early versions of Force Arena were set in the Rebellion era of the Star Wars storyline, until an update on August 14, 2017, added content from the Clone Wars era [1] and a November 9, 2017 update included the New Republic era. [2] Players control customized squads of characters and vehicles in a card-powered multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) environment in the vein of Clash Royale , [3] [4] where the goal is to destroy the enemy squad's automatic defense turrets and shield generator to open their base to an airstrike. The myriad of playable squad leaders and unique assistants not only include characters that appear in the films, but also characters who appear in spin-off films, TV series, and Marvel-published comic books, like Rogue One , Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Princess Leia , [5] [3] [4] as well as Star Wars: The Clone Wars , the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Solo: A Star Wars Story

Every squad is headed by a leader character, which has a special ability that the player can reuse at will after a certain amount of time passes, as well as some passive abilities. [6] Many leaders also each have a unique counterpart, which may be a side character or even a spacecraft strafing run, which can only be used with the character with whom they are paired. When a leader is defeated, they will respawn near the shield generator after some time passes, during which the player is unable to deploy any cards. The respawn time penalty also increases for each subsequent defeat, up to a maximum of ten seconds. [7]

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

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. GameZebo's Nick Tylwalk noted that "graphics are super sharp, especially impressive on the leader characters, and the music and sound effects are instantly recognizable." [14] This sentiment was echoed by other critics. Android Central's Mark Lagace stated "Nailing the look and feel of Star Wars is important for fans, and this is easily the best-executed I've seen and heard on mobile." [6] iMore's Luke Filipowicz appreciated that character designs are crisp and distinct, and that it was easy to differentiate between units on the battlefield. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Wars</i> video games Video games based on the Star Wars franchise

Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Netmarble Corp. is a South Korean mobile game developer. It is South Korea's largest mobile-gaming company which was founded in 2000 by Bang Jun-hyuk.

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. The typical objective is for each team to destroy their opponents' main structure, located at the opposite corner of the battlefield. In some MOBA games, the objective can be defeating every player on the enemy team. Players are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march forward along set paths toward their enemy's base, which is heavily guarded by defensive structures. This type of multiplayer online video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy, though MOBA players usually do not construct buildings or units. Moreover, there are examples of MOBA games that are not considered real-time strategy games, such as Smite (2014), and Paragon. The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy, role-playing and action games.

Kixeye is a video game company founded in July 2007 and headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company creates, develops and publishes massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games (MMORTS) for PC and mobile devices. Kixeye gained popularity as a pioneer in midcore action games featuring real-time combat on the social networking website Facebook. Following their initial launch, Kixeye's games generated twenty times more revenue per daily active user than other social games, retaining active users five times longer on average.

<i>Vainglory</i> (video game) Multiplayer online battle arena video game

Vainglory is a free-to-play video game with in-game purchases, developed and published by Super Evil Megacorp for iOS, Android and PC. The game is a version of the MOBA wherein two opposing teams of three or five players fight to destroy the enemy by controlling the path between the bases, which is lined by turrets and guarded by AI-controlled enemy creatures called minions. Off the path, players battle for control points that provide resources. The game was released for iOS on November 16, 2014, after being soft-launched for over half a year, with the Android version being released on July 2, 2015. A Mac and Microsoft Windows version of the game was released in July 2018. Through cross-platform play, players on all four platforms can play together simultaneously.

<i>War Robots</i> 2014 video game

War Robots is mobile app game developed and published by the game developer Pixonic. It is a third-person shooter with real-time PvP battles in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) mode. Players operate BattleTech-like robots on a live battlefield. It was first released on iOS in 2014 and was released to Android the following year.

<i>WWE Immortals</i> Discontinued mobile game

WWE Immortals was a fighting game based on the professional wrestling promotion WWE. It was released on January 15, 2015, for Android and iOS. The game was developed by NetherRealm Studios in conjunction with Phosphor Game Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game was free on both app stores. On February 28, 2019, the game was shut down and no longer sold in-app purchases as of December 31, 2018.

<i>Marvel: Future Fight</i> 2015 superhero themed video game

Marvel: Future Fight is a 2015 superhero-themed mobile video game developed by Netmarble Games.

There are three mobile games in the Ni no Kuni series published by Level-5. The first two were developed by Level-5 in partnership with mobile distribution companies, and were released around the original games in the main series, Dominion of the Dark Djinn and Wrath of the White Witch. The first, Ni no Kuni: Hotroit Stories, is a role-playing game set before the events of the main entries. It follows the story of Oliver and his friend Mark, and their attempts to construct a car. The first chapter was released in December 2010 through Level-5's Roid service. The second game, Ni no Kuni: Daibouken Monsters, is a social card role-playing game in which players collect cards and use them in battles, and use the abilities of characters who have been trapped in the cards. It was released in a partnership with the GREE mobile service in May 2012. The third game, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, is a role-playing game developed by Netmarble, following a beta tester in a fictional virtual reality game. It was released in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan in June 2021, and worldwide in May 2022.

<i>Paragon</i> (video game) Video game

Paragon was a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Epic Games, powered by their own Unreal Engine 4. The game started buy-to-play early access in March 2016, and then launched free-to-play access to its open beta started in August 2016. After failed attempts to make the game sustainable and having trouble keeping a player base, Epic Games made the decision to shut down Paragon servers in April 2018.

<i>Hitman: Sniper</i> 2015 video game

Hitman: Sniper is a 2015 mobile shooting gallery video game in the Hitman series by Square Enix Montréal. As the series' mainstay protagonist Agent 47, the player looks through a first-person sniper scope vision on their touchscreen device to assassinate several powerful figures who have assembled at a lakeside compound without alerting their associates. The player uses the environment to find creative ways to kill these targets, sometimes prompted by secondary objectives. Through mission progression, the player unlocks more powerful weapons and new weapon abilities.

<i>Clash Royale</i> 2016 mobile game

Clash Royale is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Supercell. The game combines elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena. The game was released globally on March 2, 2016. Clash Royale reached $1 billion in revenue in less than a year on the market. In three years, Clash Royale made $2.5 billion in revenue according to market intelligence company Sensor Tower. It is the first spinoff of Clash of Clans.

<i>Master X Master</i> 2017 video game

Master X Master (MXM) was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by NCsoft.

<i>The Witcher Battle Arena</i> Multiplayer online battle arena video game

The Witcher Battle Arena was a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by CD Projekt Red. The game released for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices in 2015, and was playable until the end of that year when the servers were closed.

<i>Arena of Valor</i> Multiplayer online battle arena video game

Arena of Valor, formerly Strike of Kings, is an international adaptation of Honor of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch for markets outside Mainland China. As of September 2018, the game has grossed over $140 million outside China. Arena of Valor was one of six Esports video games featured at the 2018 Asian Games, 2019 Southeast Asian Games, 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and 2021 SEA Games as part of the competitive sport. Arena of Valor was published in other regions by Garena, DeNA, Actoz SG, and TiMi Studio Group.

Honor of Kings is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games for the iOS and Android mobile platforms in mainland China.

<i>Lineage 2: Revolution</i> 2016 mobile MMORPG video game

Lineage 2: Revolution is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Netmarble for mobile platforms under license from NCSoft, taking place 100 years before the events of NCSoft's Lineage II: Goddess of Destruction storyline. It is part of the Lineage series.

<i>Marvel Strike Force</i> 2018 video game

Marvel Strike Force is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe.

<i>Marvel Future Revolution</i> 2021 video game

Marvel Future Revolution was an action role-playing game developed by Netmarble Monster and published by Netmarble. It was released for Android and iOS on August 25, 2021. The game's storyline is based on the Secret Wars series and is set on the Primary Earth, a patchwork world of alternate Earths such as the ones ruled by Hydra Empire or settled by Asgardians. Because of the game's multiversal nature, many alternate versions of prominent Marvel characters also appear, often interacting with one another. On October 27, 2022, it was announced that they would be reducing the scale of service. On June 2, 2023, Netmarble announced that the game would shut down & that in-app purchases would disabled. The game was shut down on August 25, 2023, exactly two years after its launch.

<i>Star Wars: Force Collection</i> 2013 video game

Star Wars: Force Collection was an action card game based on the Star Wars franchise, published by Konami for iOS and Android in 2013. It was shut down in 2018.

References

  1. ↑ Mayhew, Ash (August 17, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena just got 16 new iconic characters". DroidGamers. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ Compendio, Chris (November 9, 2017). "Kylo Ren and Rey Finally Join Mobile Game Star Wars: Force Arena". Screen Rant . Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
  4. 1 2 "Star Wars: Force Arena". Netmarble Games . Retrieved July 26, 2017– via StarWarsForceArena.com.
  5. 1 2 Minotti, Mike (November 17, 2016). "Star Wars: Force Arena for mobile sure looks like a MOBA". VentureBeat . Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Lagace, Mark (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review". Future plc . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Filipowicz, Luke (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review: The hectic MOBA is enjoyable and imperfect". Future plc . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  8. ↑ 정필권 기자 (2016-11-04). "[뉴스] 다스베이더 골라서 한판? 넷마블, '스타워즈: 배틀그라운드' 소프트론칭" (in Korean). inven.co.kr.
  9. ↑ kongbakpao (2016-11-08). "Star Wars™: Battlegrounds – Soft Launch". kongbakpao.com.
  10. ↑ Shaul, Brandy (January 12, 2017). "Netmarble Launches Star Wars: Force Arena on iOS, Android". AdWeek . Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ Vincent, Britney (May 4, 2018). "Celebrate Star Wars Day with Star Wars: Force Arena". Shacknews . Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Acebedo, Bayani Miguel (19 December 2018). "Star Wars: Force Arena is Shutting Down". Epicstream. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Star Wars: Force Arena for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic . Red Ventures . Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  14. 1 2 3 Tylwalk, Nick (January 16, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena Review". Gamezebo . Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Slater, Harry (January 12, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review - A MOBA from a galaxy far, far away". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Yahoo staff (January 26, 2017). "Review: 'Star Wars: Force Arena', A New Mobile Game for Star Wars Fans". Yahoo! Life . Retrieved April 23, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.