King of Dragon Pass Review – Seriously, you have to buy this game
App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: A Sharp, LLC
Version #: 2.1.2
Date Released: 2012-12-15
Developer: A Sharp, LLC
Price: 9.99
User Rating:
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King of Dragon Pass is one of these games I’m puzzled to discover in the App Store. Very good, deep and old. Meaning I’ve been idling for a long while without finding it. But first a warning: it’s not a game for everyone.
King of Dragon Pass is the iOS port of what was originally a PC game. I had to look this up, since the app looks perfect in its iPad setting, as if this was its original platform. It is a kind of mix of Civilization and Choose your own adventure books. Odd, very odd, but incredibly catching. Oh, and it is a universal app, working seamlessly in iPhones or iPod Touches.
In the game, you play the role of guide of a clan of Orlanthis, recently settled in Dragon Pass after running from your enemy in your original land. You are there together with other Orlanthi (as the settlers are called, as followers of the father god Orlanth) clans that fled. Your goal is to emulate the gods and rally together enough clans to form a tribe in Dragon Pass. More precisely, there are two winning conditions (which you choose on starting the game): the short game and the long game. For a short one, a member from your ring (in short, something like the board of directors of your tribe :D) has to be king (or queen) of your tribe for 10 years and your clan has to complete 2 hero quests. For a long win, you have to do 7 hero quests after forming a tribe.
Only in this short description I have hinted at a lot of stuff that makes not a lot of sense, haven’t I? Orlanth, hero quests, Ring. The game comes with a short tutorial and a long manual. It is very recommended to read it… Or play a few games, be crushed and start anew, as I did, reading along things that surprised me or I wasn’t able to figure out.
The game is divided in turns (seasons) and in each turn you can make two actions. An action can be raising warriors (weaponthanes in KoDP lingo,) sacrificing to your gods, establishing trade… There are many possible actions to be done, and many ways to screw up and be terminated. After all, you are managing everything from the tribe: how many crops they plant, how many hunters are in the wild, which gods you sacrifice to. It’s a hard game, but it is very enjoyable. When you manage to win, it is awesome.
I don’t think I can find any drawbacks to King of Dragon Pass. It is a deep game, well executed and with quality drawings (there are no graphics, everything is text-driven with images to go along, very well designed overall.) It can be considered a little pricy for what iOS games are usually, but this is well worth it. Gameplay is basically random, so every game you play will be completely different. Replayability is thus huge, as number of hours the game will keep you entertained.
In short: How come I hadn’t find about King of Dragon Pass before? Definitely a game I can recommend.
Quick Take
Value:Very high
Would I Buy Again:Yes
Learning Curve:High
Who Is It For:Hardcore gamers, fantasy lovers
What I Like:It's deep and awesome
What I Don't Like:Nothing so far. Excellent game
Final Statement:Go and buy it, for the sake of Orlanth!
adventure It’s immensely replayable, thanks to over 500 interactive scenes and two objectives. Short episodes and automatic saving mean you can play even when you only have a minute or two. The built-in saga writes down the story for you. And advisors with distinctive personalities help you track your cows.
The gorgeous hand-painted artwork won Best Visual Arts at the second annual Independent Games Festival.
Screenshots
Article By ruben
Ruben Berenguel is finishing his PhD in Mathematics while writing in mostlymaths.net about being a 'geek of all trades'. He also happens to be the senior editor in the What's on iPhone network: any complaints go to him!
ruben has written 174 awesome app reviews.
