A free tactical shooter WarFriends was released for Android devices on Tuesday, published by the Electronic Arts-owned Chillingo. The game was co-developed by Chillingo and About Fun and should already be available for download from the Google Play Store in all parts of the world. WarFriends is primarily a multiplayer game featuring a variety of traditional modes and 3D graphics. The gameplay revolves around cover mechanics which players are expected to master if they want to survive for more than a few seconds as their digital avatars aren’t terribly resistant to bullets. Being a free-to-play game, WarFriends features a variety of in-app purchases, though its developers are promising none of them are required to enjoy the full experience. The current version of the game isn’t packed with any kind of advertising.
After finishing a short tutorial, players will be able to jump into WarFriends’ many modes and wage online wars with both their friends and strangers. The game itself was designed around touch controls and requires both strategic thinking and reflexes. Moving from cover to cover is done by swiping but even though covers offer solid protection against bullets, hiding behind them for too long is bound to result in grenades flying your way. Players can peek out of cover to shoot their opponents by tapping on any part of the screen. Holding the screen will open a small scope that allows you to be more accurate with your shots but also exposes you to harm, meaning you’ll have to balance between taking potshots at your opponents and opening a concentrated fire to be successful in WarFriends.
In addition to shooting, WarFriends also features numerous strategic elements. The goal of each skirmish is to kill the leader of an opposing unit — usually another human player — who’s leaping from cover to cover. However, both your main foe and your humble self can deploy additional, AI-controlled units on the battlefield. Activating units requires energy that players can replenish by eliminating soldiers deployed by their opponent. All of this results in a varied gameplay experience that’s always keeping you on your toes. As most battles only last a couple of minutes, WarFriends is suitable for playing on the go.
