Mobile game reviews
TECHLIFE’S TEAM REVIEWS THE LATEST GAMES FOR ANDROID & iOS SMARTPHONES & TABLETS.
Arena of Valor BEST IN CLASS MOBILE BRAWLER Free | www.arenaofvalor.com/
FRESH OFF THE back of the most successful game of all time, China’s Glory of Kings, Arena of Valor is the localised version of this smash hit MOBA. Genuinely free to play, AoV borrows much of its style, features and character designs from the PC versions it is based on – League of Legends and DOTA2. As per most MOBAs, players choose a hero character and fight alongside 2-4 other players to take down the enemy and eventually bring the fight to their home base.
Arena of Valor is the newest kid on the block and carries the heft of Chinese gaming giant TenCent behind it. The original Chinese version has had years of refinement and this has carried across well to the localised version – controls are tight and easy to learn on either a phone or tablet, there is a solid tutorial which teaches you the basics before dropping you into the fire, a great system that rewards regular games with free hero unlocks as well as plenty of free skins and XP bonuses along the way. Graphics are very good (the game will detect if you can support a HD pack for graphics and sound and automatically install it) as are the various modes of play.
The only problem with AoV is that it really exists in Australia via name only. Both the Android and iOS versions share the “Asia” server, which doesn’t list Australia as a country ,thus making it difficult to locate guilds and groups with English speaking players. Additionally, there are no local servers, meaning pings can spike anywhere from 70-150ms during play, which in a fast-paced brawler can mean the difference between life and death. Playable, sure, but it could be much better otherwise.
CONTROLS ARE TIGHT AND EASY TO LEARN ON EITHER A PHONE OR TABLET, THERE IS A SOLID TUTORIAL WHICH TEACHES YOU THE BASICS BEFORE DROPPING YOU INTO THE FIRE, A GREAT SYSTEM THAT REWARDS REGULAR GAMES WITH FREE HERO UNLOCKS AS WELL AS PLENTY OF FREE SKINS AND XP BONUSES ALONG THE WAY.