Lost Frontier
Gunfight at the Pretty Good Corral
$2.99 Developer Mika Mobile, mikamobile.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 6 or later
When it comes to turn-based strategy games, we don’t see many cowboy-based offerings. It’s a shame, because the genre’s well suited to small-scale shoot-outs fought on open expanses of desert.
The theming is cutely and imaginatively incorporated – gunslingers’ abilities are boosted by infusions of snake oil; your outriders take the form of cavalry on horseback and your ranged units tote old-fashioned shotguns. That’s not to say you won’t also come up against the odd supernatural element, but these add enough variety that they feel like worthy additions.
Rather than putting you in the midst of epic battles lasting hours, play is split into levels – each topping out at 10-15 minutes of play. Your objectives? Kill everyone who isn’t on your side, before they kill you. Level layouts differ enough to force you into changing your approach, so good luck if you were hoping to find one tactic that worked and then use it throughout. Some might require your units to surround a saloon (these serve as your spawn points, and can be captured by foes) and hold firm against the onslaught; others will need you to summon up your derring-do and ride forth, flanked by as much shotgun-powered backup as your boys can muster.
What’s more, your cabal of units have very definite strengths, weaknesses and purposes, and uncovering how these dovetail offers a large chunk of the fun. A posse, for example, is hefty enough that when they’re not on your side they feel like a genuine threat, not to be taken on by any less than two, preferably three, of your men. A posse of your own, backed up by a snake oil merchant and a trusty doctor? Darn nigh unstoppable – you’ll come in like a wrecking ball.
The animation is cutesy (all bobbing, Habbo-esque sprites) and the interface pretty simple, but the difficulty here is stern enough to see you frequently replaying stages until you get your tactics fine-tuned enough to survive your last stand. It’s a decent challenge that will satisfy any strategy nut, and a welcome newcomer in town.
the bottom line. By going back to the lawless Wild West, Lost Frontier serves up a fresh take on the turn-based strategy genre.