Happy Wars XBLA Review

Happy Wars is an exciting addition to the XBLA and marks the introduction of Xbox Live's first free-to-play game. But just how 'free' is it? and will Developer Toylogic be able to resolve teething multiplayer server issues?

Happy Wars marks the advent of Xbox Live’s first free-to-play online game, and the start of a new free to play program launched by Microsoft. Happy Wars is a third person button-mashing strategy game in which players will be pitted against various armies across a range of maps. The main aim of the game is to capture enemy towers which act as spawn points, and ultimately siege the enemy’s castle. While there is a distinct lack of storyline involved in the game, the main focus is clearly multiplayer, where players can choose to either battle against the AI in co-op mode, or other online players in quick match. Multiplayer can host up to 30 players in two teams of 15, however players will often find themselves in games which are not full.

Players will face off in exciting, large-scale battles of up to 30 players. 

There are three main character classes to choose from: i. Warrior, ii. Cleric, or iii. Mage. These classes can be easily switched during games after dying, and is very handy when tactics need to be actively changed; for example during a siege a cleric may be more useful by building ladders or a battering ram. Characters can be customised in a variety of ways such as facial expressions, hair style, and skin tone. Equipment can also be changed via the customisation screen prior to entering battle. A variety of weapons, armour and accessories will be found while playing, however the more powerful/premium gear will require players to purchase weapon packs with happy tokens (which cost Microsoft points). In addition to priced happy tokens, happy stars will also be earned based on performance during games. These can be spent on levelling up items and equipment, or gambled on the spinner wheel. While the spinner wheel does allow free players to win some relatively rare or powerful weapons, the majority of decent gear must be bought using happy tokens. This introduces an unbalance to the multiplayer, as those with premium weapons and armour will inflict far more damage and be much more difficult to kill. They can also place buffs upon weapons when respawning which massively increase attack damage for short periods of time, with seemingly no way to tell who has a buff active. In addition, some of the AI seem extremely unbalanced and overpowered (for example when a dark opposing team is encountered), and may be another money making tactic to encoruage players to buy premum equipment.

Nevertheless, it is still nice to be able to try the game for free and decide whether or not to buy premium items. Toylogic has clearly placed emphasis on the multiplayer aspect in order to encourage players to purchase happy tokens, and this is echoed in the fact that single player quest missions cannot be progressed without first levelling up online. While this is a sound money making strategy, it does make gamers question the fairness of the game. It should also be noted that this game is only ‘free-to-play’ for Xbox Live gold customers who already pay £40 membership per year, and when this is compared to Playstation’s Plus membership which gives away a variety of full retail and arcade games free each month; it leaves Xbox gamers with more disappointment.

Players are encouraged to spend Microsoft Points in order to obtain the most powerful equipment. 

Unfortunately Happy Wars also suffers badly from server issues, with players waiting very long periods of time to find matchmade games (especially in quick match), or even get to the title screen. Difficulty may also be experienced when trying to join games with friends, leaving players with an ‘update required’ message when there is in fact no available update. In addition to matchmaking server issues, players may also be booted out of a game mid-way through causing them to lose all stars or achievements earned during that game. This can be especially frustrating for players aiming to complete particular multiplayer quests (the Happy Wars equivalent of challenges), or when the match has almost finished. It’s unclear why there are so many server issues at present, perhaps the developer did not forecast for the popularity the game has received, however if these problems are not resolved soon it may lose a large amount of its audience. 

SCORE: 7/10

+ free-to-play.

- Extremely severe matchmaking issues from launch.

- Players are encouraged to spend MS points or face unbalanced matches online.