Social Networking Games: Buddy Rush for iPhone (and Facebook): The time for adventure is all the time

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Buddy Rush for iPhone (and Facebook): The time for adventure is all the time

by Joe Osborne, Posted May 12th 2011 4:55PM

Cross platform social games can be a drag--just look at FarmVille. (Alright, so it's come a long ways, I still don't wanna hear it.) They're rarely, if ever, like their core counterpart, which in most cases lives on Facebook or elsewhere. However, Sollmo might have found the answer in Buddy Rush for the iPhone (and Facebook): asynchronous gameplay. You know, what we've been trying to move away from as a genre? That's exactly what makes Buddy Rush, a free game on the iOS App Store, work so well. After downloading and installing the game, you'll need to log in using Facebook Connect. From there, you can add all of your Facebook friends by sending them in-game gifts. And trust us when we say you will need lots of friends. This is because, at the heart of it, you're never actually playing with your friends. (Stay with us, people.) You're slaying blue monsters and giant bugs with AI-controlled versions of your friends' characters. However, having a large pool of friend friend characters available for whatever trials you might face would be a good idea. And those trial are faced in real time for you, but your partying adventurers, if used by you, we imagine will receive bonuses upon logging into his game. And that's the number one flaw and point of brilliance in Buddy Rush. While not being able to play with your friends in real time through your phones or on Facebook is a bummer, that's not the point. The aim of the game is to be there to provide a dungeon-diving adventure whenever you're ready, with your friends. And since today's gamer has little interest in setting up times to play a massively multiplayer game, here you go.

The asynchronous gameplay allows players to enjoy the game whenever they want, and have their friends be right there with them, fighting back hordes of beasts. The combat and aesthetic are standard fantasy fare with a twist of humor and a kid-friendly style. There are several character classes to choose from the standard warrior/wizard/archer trio to strange character types like the Vampino (a vampire that wears copious amounts of sunblock) and Skully (a revolver-wielding pirate), which unlock in time.

As for actually dispatching enemies, Missions are displayed isometrically, with the player touching (or clicking) the areas on the ground he wants his avatar to run to. Honestly, the controls are all very intuitive: tap enemies to kill them, then tap different abilities and items to use them. (Visions of a cuter Diablo might dance in your head while playing this game.)Your party members contribute to combat automatically, and can be healed--remember that. Each Mission rewards XP and Chips, the game's currency, as well as costs Stamina. This slowly refilling statistic is similar to the Energy system in most social games, but can be restored with potions either earned or purchased for Chips.

All in all, Buddy Rush for the iPhone would stand on its as a single player game (by technicality, it is), but the inclusion of Facebook friends, regardless of whether its asynchronous, opens up whole new possibilities. And you can access that content whenever you want--forget waiting around for your friends to make the monster raid. Buddy Rush is an elegant solution to a common problem in mobile social gaming crossovers: simply make both versions as similar in form, function and style as possible (the Facebook and iPhone versions are nearly identical). And for the mobile monster-slaying crowd, this game is a fashion do.

Click here to play Buddy Rush on Facebook Now >

Have you tried Buddy Rush on either platform? What do you think of cross-platform social games? Are games generally headed this way? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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