This Wii U eShop game features a fun competitive mode that pits the GamePad against the TV.
The team at Ronimo Games have a wonderful driving concept: they take genres traditionally in 3D and bring them to the world of 2D side-scrolling. I’ve long been a zealot for the 2D MOBA Awesomenauts and I’m finally coming around to singing the praises of their 2D strategy game series Swords & Soldiers. The sequel, coming out on Wii U this spring (the game should be in Nintendo’s hands by the end of March according to the team at Ronimo) is shaping up to be a fun, challenging adventure through a unique take on the tried-and-true genre.
But we’ve covered Swords & Soldiers II’s single-player already. I got the chance to try Swords & Soldiers II two-player competitive mode at PAX East, which puts one player using the GamePad screen and the other using the TV. It translates the single-player experience to multiplayer extremely well, and I had a good time trying to outwit my opponent. Each player can pick one of the three factions (Vikings, Demons, and Persians), and then start earning gold to buy upgrades and troops.
My initial concern with the multiplayer is that only three factions is a little limiting. However, you can create custom skill trees that mix all of the factions (and then some) together. You can even select random skill trees if you’re so daring. That kind of potential for improvisation makes it more compelling. I’m not quite sure if the two-player mode will enter my staple of multiplayer games when Swords & Soldiers II hits in the next few months, but I’m interested in trying it more. I love that the GamePad and TV are being used to serve as game screens for two players, and I love that this super fun strategy game is coming to Wii U.