Saying that the gaming industry is big is a huge understatement, but here we are in the 21st century where big games are jumping into the pool with cannonball bravado. Yes, the budgets are big and they're spawning massive advertising campaigns. In this case, I'm talking about MMO Mobile Strike and how just about 110% of the world's population has been touched by Epic War's aggressive ad campaign. Prior to giving in and installing it, I was seeing ads for Mobile Strike everywhere and I think it was when I spotted an ad while browsing Reddit that I finally had enough and decided to install the free Android app. Yeah, advertising works all right. It's a great example of how you can build brand awareness with sheer purchasing power. After all, both Mobile Strike and Game of War have had high profile faces in Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kate Upton (recently replaced by Mariah Carey) respectively.
The game itself is 'ok'. It's slick and has some engaging mechanisms, but we've all been around the block enough times to see what a game like Mobile Strike is all about i.e., money and generating revenue, which isn't a bad thing since it helps these companies employ game designers and developers, etc. The game itself is free because it makes so much money from all kinds of advertising streams, and in-app purchases of course. At first glance, Mobile Strike looks like a re-skinned version of Game of War: Fire Age. Not surprising, Epic War is a new division of Machine Zone, aka Epic War's birthplace. So why invest so much time and resources in creating such a similar product? Because GoW made zillions, that's why. So instead of waiting for someone else to clone your game, you may as well do it yourself, and this time with a modern military theme. Gauging the popularity of Mobile Strike, I wouldn't be surprised to see a futuristic space version in the not so distant future. Gameplay is very similar to GoW in that you need to build the usual farms and buildings and armies and level them up until you're ready to fight a campaign. The key is to join forces and create alliances with other players while networking through Mobile Strike's messaging feature. There's a lot going on here and plenty to keep you busy. All the time. Seriously. All. The. Freaking. Time. Unfortunately, the interface suffers from all that clutter and I just don't find it very interesting or rewarding to acquire those achievements. Personally, I couldn't invest that much time in the game but I suppose if you'd never played Game of War or other strategy games like this, it could be fun. Other than that, it just feels like another rehash. Check out the Mobile Strike promo video starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a no low budget production:
