Hero Academy debuted on iOS devices before finally coming to Steam, and little has changed from that version. It’s a simple strategy game that has opponents taking turns trying to defeat each other, using only five moves per turn. Since there are only five moves per turn, each team has to try and make the biggest impact within those turns.
There are several teams to choose from when starting a match, and they all have different traits. The Council is a good all-around team. The Dwarves are best at destroying the enemy crystal because of high impact attacks, thus ending the game. The Tribe is best at destroying enemies and causing them damage, and they become stronger when a member of their team is killed. The Dark Elves also succeed in defeating enemy characters. They can leech life from their enemies and raise the souls of their fallen enemies to fight. The Team Fortress 2 team (exclusive to the Steam version) is another all-around good team, and they get an action point back from killing an enemy.
The teams have a few different heroes to work with. The starter team is the council, and is one of the two free teams available. The rest have to be bought. The archer is great for long range attacks, the knight is better for attacks that are up close and personal, and they can also knock enemies back. The mage is good for magic attacks. The mage can sometimes hit a couple enemies per turn if they are close enough to where you targeted. Each team has it’s own differently named equivalent to those positions.
Once you pick a team, you have to search for a match. I had a lot of trouble actually finding a match, and having to wait around for one was a little aggravating. There are a number of weapons and other equipment that can be earned and then equipped to each hero to make them stronger. Spells can also be used this way, and are just concentrated on an enemy on the board. Equipping a weapon or using a spell will take one of your five moves in a turn, and so will moving your character. You either have to kill all enemy players, or destroy the enemy crystal to win.
Hero Academy is a fun little strategy game that is simple looking, but can be challenging with the limited number of moves you get per turn. The Steam version of the game is compatible with the iOS version, with the exception of some iOS achievements. Hero Academy is a fun strategy game, but it would be more fun if you could actually find a match to play in. There is co-op too though, which great if you have friends that play it.
[Images via Robot Entertainment ]
