Plot
Angels have been depicted in all religious scriptures as celestial beings doing God’s bidding unconditionally and protecting mankind. The premise of the game League of Angels takes inspiration from this but puts its own spin on the proceedings. The game renders a world where these guardian angels that have stood over as sentinels for humans, are incarcerated by a malevolent being. Needless to say the absence of angels has thrown the world into a state of utter pandemonium and anarchy. Your job as a player is to restore order to the world by freeing the angels but first you must gather your team, build an army and take on the forces of evil and other players.
Gameplay
League of Angels is a browser based, turn based, free to play MMORPG game developed by Youzu Interactive for the PC platform. The game begins with letting players select from two classes i.e. the mage or the warrior. Players are also given the choice of selecting the gender of their on-screen avatar. Sadly, the depth of the class system leaves a lot to be desired but one hopes that Youzu Interactive will later add to it.
The player will also be accompanied by an NPC angel from the get go. The sole task of angel is to augment the abilities of player’s team. It doesn’t engage in battle directly. During the course of the game player will also get to recruit heroes to their retinue. Unlike the angel, the heroes directly participate in the battle. The last element of player’s retinue is a mount. Just like an angel mounts are there to boost the abilities and stats of your avatar and like the angel cant engage in battle or can be targeted by the enemy.
Game progression:
The progression in game is dependent on quest completion. There are three types of quests to indulge in:
1) The main quest: narrates and forwards the plot of the game. The main quests are interlinked with the current level of the player. To unlock further parts its imperative to be at a specific level.
2) Side quests: The side quests are mainly there to help players level up by going on tedious and repetitive missions like clearing dungeons to attain a certain level.
3) Loop quests: Loop quests are where the developers have shown innovation. A loop quest varies in nature, from requiring players to transverse the depths of a dungeon to procuring a special item from the shop. In a day, a player can indulge in 50 loop quests. Upon successful completion of which a special item is bestowed.
Battle Mechanics
The battle mechanics are pretty much routine, run of the mill affair. Once the action initiates player has little interaction and say about what transpires on the screen. You select the formation of your players, arranging them strategically according to their abilities. This is where the emphasis on upgrading the skills and related stats of characters comes in really handy! in fact the tide of the battle is heavily reliant on how well a player has upgraded and augmented the abilities of their retinue. Once the battle ensues, you can do nothing much but take a back seat and let your team duke it out.
Pros:
The most obvious and evident pro of the game is the beautifully rendered art. There are not a lot of browser games which can boast of having art work as finely rendered as League of Angels. Being a browser based game there is no need of installation or worrying about hardware specifications. The controls are easy (read automated)
Cons:
As with the pros, the most prominent and noticeable con is the cramped and cluttered UI. There is just too much detail and flashing icons and alerts, all crammed on to the screen which prove to be really annoying. Lastly, the fully automated nature of the game takes away the feel of being in control, limiting player interaction.
Verdict:
League of Angels is a pretty standard browser based game which will suffice if you are trying to kill time at work. If you were looking for in depth and deeply satisfying gaming experience, there is none to be had with this one. It does have some redeeming qualities like mentioned above but none strong enough to make it stand out from the rest of games in the same genre.