Happy Wars (XBLA): "Chaotic Warfare With A Comical Twist"

There is no doubt these days that war is truly one of the hottest, and most debated topics around. Often times you'll see news of the war in the middle east, and find that things in life are not always as pleasant as they seem. Even the video game industry seems to take their own stance on the subject of war with military based shooters that are all the craze these days. These more serious peeks into what is happening in the world can become somewhat disheartening at times if we dwell on it too long. Even so I'm glad to see that some game producers, and developers such as Toylogic are bringing us a lighter side of the topic of warfare.

In their latest free to play game, "Happy Wars" we find that war games do not always have to be the overly violent display that most of us have come to call normal. With a whimsical cast of customizable light, and dark armies this simplistic tower defense title comes to life with all the charm of a children's fairytale. Keeping true to the theme of war though, Toylogic pokes hints at the serious topic of warfare that is imbeded within the game. As such they bring to our attention the troubling nature that plagues all of mankind. Maybe one day we as humans will see our mistakes, and end our quarrels in a civilized manner. Until that time though when have fun games like this one to keep us entertained, and make the horrific reality that is war seem like it's only a bad dream.

Happy Wars is a game that presents tower defense gameplay in a somewhat unique way. When you first get into the game you'll find that it has both a multiplayer mode, and singleplayer campaign listed as options in the main menu. Like any proper retail title this free-to-play game has a tutorial mode to get the player familiar with the games features before sending them off into combat. The tutorial, or training mode (which I highly suggest you complete) is presented in three sections that will get you familiar with the combat mechanics of the various soldier class types (Knight, Cleric, Mage) as well as teach you about the other various core features (defense, equipment, leveling, objectives ...).

Most gamers will be familiar with the character classes in the game, but if you are not the game explains their roles very well. The 'Knight' as you can probably imagine is the brute of the team, and can dish out damage like nobody's business. Aside from that the 'Knight' characters can also defend themselves by using an equipped shield. Melee attacks are not the only source attacks in the game though. As with any of the character classes available in the game you will find that the 'Knight' has a standard melee attack (X) as well as three skill attacks. Like any true RPG type game you'll find that you can learn these skills as you level your character up. Two of the skills (A & B) are character specific giving the 'Knight' the ability to do such things as throw items, or launch his enemy into the air inflicting damage in the process. The third available skill I spoke of is a team skill that can only be used sparringly. It takes a massive amount of attack points (AP) to use. All skills use up attack points, and as such they are limited to the amount of times they can be used during each of your lives.

The 'Cleric', and 'Mage' classes are similar in some respects considering that they both use spells, and enchantments to assist their teammates. If you're familiar with such RPGs as "Final Fantasy Tactics" then you'll know that a 'Cleric' is like a holy warrior who is endowed with the gift of healing. These spiritual warriors can aid their allies by casting healing spells as well as build weapons that can be utilized by the team. As far as the 'Mage' goes it's a fairly self explanatory character. If you've ever played any magic oriented RPG then you'll recognize this particular class as the one that deals out magic damage. In Happy Wars the Mage's role is to add enchantments to their teammate's weapons as well as summon powerful attacks such as meteor storms, or lightning strikes to deal massive damage to their opponents. The 'Mage' is more of a distance fighter, and is really meant to participate in the fray indirectly as a support character.

When it comes to character customization options Happy Wars is chock full of content. From the main menu you will be able to setup your Knight's, Cleric's, and Mage's appearance as well as equip them with earned/purchased (via XBL Marketplace) items. As far as character customizations go you begin by choosing a gender, facial features, hair style, and hair color. There are plenty of options initially available including some really awesome, and kawaii (cute) anime themes. After choosing the basics of the character you can go back, and equip them with the latest weapons, armor, shields, and accessories that you have earned in either your playthrough of the campaign, or multiplayer modes. If you're a heavy spender, and don't mind shelling out some microsoft points for some top notch items then the game offers that as an option as well. For those of you worried about money making gimmicks you can rest easy as the game offers players the ability to gamble (via the "Spinner") with their hard earned in-game star points in order to possibly acquire some premium items. For those who want better odds though there's also a card game that uses the "Happy Ticket" currency which can be bought with microsoft points. With "Happy Tickets" one can go as far as to splurge, on new character skin tones, facial features, and various other pieces of equipment that are unique to the online shop.

Customizations are definitely bountiful in this game, but they are not the only things with multiple features available. As I mentioned earlier Happy Wars has both a singleplayer campaign, and a multiplayer mode. The single player campaign basically puts the player in control of the light kingdom's army as they seek to rescue a recently abducted princess, or aid other interesting characters with their off-the-wall predicaments. The point of the first campaign mission you'll encounter is to aid a king who's daughter was abducted by an opposing king. Through hilarious cutscenes, and gameplay you will follow the king, and participate in his army's pursuit of their nemesis. After unlocking each campaign chapter by leveling up in multiplayer you will be able to enjoy many more interesting stories than just that.

As far as the objectives in both the campaign, and online multiplayer go they are very similar with the only difference being that campaign is a more story driven experience. You (the gamer) will ultimately control one of the three available characters as you try to fight your way to the enemy's various castles in both offline, and online gameplay modes. Along the way you'll need to construct towers with your teammates in order to gain a respawn advantage. Each tower you construct along the path to the enemy's castle will allow your team to respawn at that point when they die. The closer the tower is the better the chance is that your team will prevail. Once you make it to the castle you must break down the gate, or scale the walls in order to bring down their main tower that is hidden inside. The first team to achieve this goal wins.

In the multiplayer modes Toylogic definitely went all out to bring the gamer a solid experience. The online multiplayer features three options of play that include "Quick Match", "Co-op", and "Xbox Live Party". In 'Quick Match' you get teamed up randomly with up to 30 other players that are divided into two teams of 15. One team is of course the white/light team while the other is the black/dark team. It's basically a "Good vs Evil" sort of match up, and the character costumes definitely reflect that. In 'Quick Match' as with any of the other online modes your objective is simply to build towers along the way to your enemy's castle, and eventually bring down their main tower in the process. If you are a competitive gamer who loves ranking up in online matches then you'll be happy to know that Happy Wars features an in-depth ranking system that keeps track of your various character stats. I think there's even a prestige point for when you rank up to a certain level.

The visual presentation of Happy Wars is nothing short of spectacular. I would say it's more of a mixture of "Castle Crashers", and "Dungeon Defenders" though. The entire game is cel-shaded, and the animations while simplistic are definitely next-gen in quality. The various, and whimsical level designs add a certain flare to the overall game's appearance. Even the characters, and their visually applied customizations add to the game's lively fairytale-like appearance. I have yet to see a graphical hiccup even during the online gaming sessions I participated in. For an online multiplayer that hosts two teams of 15 players this game really holds up remarkably.

In conclusion I believe this is a "No Brainer". If you like free games that are presented with great quality then I highly suggest that you download this XBLA title when it's available. The developer has strayed away from making the game a pure money making gimmick, so I'm definitely pleased. I'd go as far as to say that you don't have to spend any real money at all to be able to enjoy this game to it's fullest. The "Spinner" gambling game offers you as much of a chance at getting premium items in my opinion as the "Card" game does. Aside from that the online is a solid experience with no real lag issues. When a game developer is able to make lobbies that support up to 30 players properly then you can be certain they had quality in mind when creating the game. I do need to point out that I did experience some disconnections when trying to join online matches. This will probably be fixed with future patches though. Definitely download this game when it's released as it is very much worth it.