Jelly Wars Review

Eschewing the likes of Openfeint and Game Center, Jelly Wars (out now, $0.99) employs Star Arcade Oy’s very own social gaming platform to pit iOS, Android, and Symbian gamers from across the globe against each other in quirky turn-based battles.

Now, Jelly Wars is an online-only title, so before you get stuck into its cross-platform multiplayer action you’ll need to sign up for a new Star Arcade account (don’t worry, registration is totally free and only takes a few moments). Once you’re logged in, proceedings get underway with a spot of humorous scene-setting. A mock-epic opening sequence introduces us to two warring jelly tribes, the reds and the blues, who are hell-bent on wiping each other off the face of the planet.

Jelly Wars‘ fast-paced multiplayer matches play out like a cross between Worms and Angry Birds. Players command either a red or a blue warrior and take turns at lobbing jelly bombs across the screen at each other. The aim of the game is of course to wear down your opponent’s health bar with a hail of well-aimed shots or kill them outright by knocking them into the water before they manage to do the same to you.

As far as TBS games go, it’s not all that deep, but Jelly Wars has obviously been designed with ease of use and quick-fire entertainment in mind. That being said, it still has room for improvement. First and foremost, I’d really like to see more weapons and abilities added in future updates; a larger variety of bombs and some manner of melee attack would help make things less predictable and a whole lot more exciting. Beyond that, Star Arcade Oy may also want to consider bumping up the number of players that can partake in online battles (a three or four player mode with two teams would be awesome!) and including extra features such as bluetooth multiplayer and an offline, single-player option.

iFanzine Verdict: Angry Birds meets Worms in this fun, if a tad basic, cross-platform TBS title. Jelly Wars is a great showcase for Star Arcade and comes recommended, but could do with more content and perhaps a single-player, offline mode come update time.