By Joseph Luster

Immortal Conquest: Europe is one of many territory-claiming iOS/Android strategy games with a vicious hook. While it’s set in a fantasy world that mixes in elements of mythology and a slight dash of historic heroics, the end result is mostly in line with what we’ve seen in previous mobile outings within the genre. That is to say, it likes to test your patience to see how willing you are to invest real money in its fantasy war setting.

Of course, that’s the whole purpose of free-to-play mobile games in the first place. They suck you in with a variety of mechanics, many of which require a waiting period to complete. For those who don’t feel like waiting for their forces to replenish, or twiddling their thumbs while buildings and resources are constructed, there’s always the option of shelling out cash for a quicker turnaround. With an entire world to conquer, dedicated players will definitely end up spending at least a few dollars at some point.

There’s still plenty of game here for everyone else, though. Immortal Conquest doesn’t offer opportunities for the deepest of strategies, but its production values are relatively high for a freely downloadable smartphone game. Like others of its ilk, Immortal Conquest is happy to hold your hand for the first few battles. Pointing out every button you need to press is a welcome feature, but it also makes it easier to avoid paying attention in the first place. When I started out, I found myself mindlessly following the directions given to me without bothering to understand the nuances of the game, like the placement of Immortals and the nitty gritty of what causes one army to dominate the other in any given battle.

IC_Alliance Making

Thankfully, there’s plenty of information available on the fly, and you’ll have plenty of time to absorb it all if you choose the path of minimum investment. Even without spending any money, the mere fact that Immortal Conquest is on my phone makes it easy to whittle away a ton of time on an assortment of menial tasks. My army still needs time to recharge, so I guess I might as well work on constructing a new house. Once that’s done, I’ll set out to gather more resources in non-combat exploration. What’s that? I just found some new Immortal cards, so I can reorganize my deck and optimize it for the battles to come? Oh, cool, I almost missed my flight because I was staring at this stupid game!

The basic story centers on 13 civilizations spread across Earth, each of which worships their own unique immortal gods. While they were able to live in prosperity for a time, receiving blessings from the gods in the form of power and prosperity, said power eventually paved a path toward greed and hatred. Now the nations are at war with one another, and warlords enlist the power of these Immortals to take down their neighbors and spread their empire as far as possible. Thus, your long-term goal is to continuously battle for territory, taking on computer AI and other players alike for control of land. You can also forge alliances with adversaries, so the end result of every encounter needn’t be a trip to the battlefield.

The ceiling for growth in Immortal Conquest: Europe is high indeed, but how high you end up rising will ultimately come down to how deep its hooks sink into you from the get-go. There’s no doubt tossing in a few dollars here and there will boost your enjoyment, but I can’t say it sucked me in enough to make it worth my while. As it stands, however, it’s still a solid time-killer with healthy meat on its bones, and as a free-to-play game there’s certainly no harm in trying it out for yourself.

PUBLISHER Funcell123 • GENRE STRATEGY • System (s) iOS, Android • Available Now

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