The folks at Glu have honed the addictive qualities of loot-based action/RPGs down to a precise formula and packaged them up into a shiny, compelling third installation of the Eternity Warriors series. Whether you opt for the blade-fisted agile monk or the staff wielding master of the arcane arts, be prepared for an engaging and solid gaming experience.
In Eternity Warriors 3, you take the helm of one of three standard action/RPG archetypes in an ongoing war against demon magiks. Operating from a small village in Northern Udar, you will take on quests to slay enemies for experience and ph4t l3wt; emphasis on the latter. In fact, it seems that pretty much everything in EW3—from the gorgeous graphics to the snappy performance and all item management systems therein—are geared toward the perpetual acquisition and refinement of your gear.
Stay In The Zone
Quests are doled out in onesies and threesies, and take place within instanced named levels. The theme of each level is varied from one to the next keeping you suitably engaged with pretty colors, but be prepared to cycle through the same one a few times. Aside from the core storyline quests, minor quests will continually appear allowing you to re-run a particular level to collect more xp/loot. Each level can be run in a matter of minutes however, and the action is fast paced and furious.
Tight And Responsive
Your chosen character is granted 4 skills which grow in power as you level, and these skills are placed conveniently on the right side of the screen via a hot bar interface. I can’t stress enough how smooth this game’s action is, and triggering abilities or using potions is exactly as responsive as I’d expect from such a title. It’s all too common in similar games that skills and potions don’t proc right when you need them or it’s too difficult to change directions on a dime. Color me impressed. And, the d-pad stays in one place! Squee ^_^
As you blaze through each level, enemies spawn in areas that are locked by a barrier. You clear each mini-area, barrier goes down, and you move on. Pots, crates, and other breakable objects are scarce but do drop some coin if you manage to find them as well as the occasional chest. At the end of each level is a boss (or two), and thankfully those that I’ve witnessed are interesting and feature unique mechanics. It’s plainly obvious that a good bit of experience and attention to detail went into EW3.
Get Ye Loot Heea!
Having completed a level, you’re ported back to the town square where you’ll meet other players wandering about and slinging childish insults to and fro. A chat interface lets you join in the slander, but I find myself a bit old for that sort of thing these days. From within the safety of town, you can claim the rewards of completed quests, sacrifice “offerings” for random items, and fuse/evolve your goodies into more powerful ones.
As you hoard loot by running mission after mission, you can either sell or combine your left over schwag. Fusion allows you to combine up to 6 items with one target item to make it more powerful while evolution uses special ingredients to “level” the item entirely. Fusion is easy, evolution is not (due to rarity of ingredients). Of course, you can buy evolution ingredients using cashola but… who does that? Pro-tip: You can swipe to choose which item you get as a reward after completing a quest.
A Quality Title
In my play-through, I discovered a wide variety of items each complete with unique stats. Customization of your hero is key in EW3, and I was delighted to discover that some items even changed your character model! Huzzah. When does that happen anymore?? In addition to buying evolution ingredients, you can purchase potions, gold, or rush your new skill unlocks, but I found the pacing of the game to be just fine for my taste on “freebie” mode. Levels are just challenging enough, and there’s no pesky energy limitations constantly poking you in the eye.
As a free title, Eternity Warriors 3 certainly has solid, lasting appeal. Replayability is high, the loot seems nearly endless, and (for once) you’ll actually feel as if you’re playing a quality game on your tablet. I experienced zero lag or stuttering on my Nexus 7, even during intense fights, however while in town was regularly hit with some sort of time-out/syncing message. Not game breaking, but annoying nonetheless. The core of this game is frantic action and tricking out your toon, both of which it excels at nicely. Unless you have an aversion to adrenaline or only own a smartphone, I can’t see a reason not to get this game.
The Verdict
+ Smooth and stutter-free gameplay
+ Gorgeous graphics
+ Tons of replayability
+ No freemium bs to keep you from playing
– Online sync issues while in town
– Only a few items alter character model
