Ikariam

Ikariam

 

GENRE: Free to play Strategy MMO
PLATFORM: Web Browser
DEVELOPER: Gameforge

OVERVIEW

Ikariam is a free to play strategy based MMO where players must earn resources, build up their city, expand their territory and compete against other players. Players begin on an island with a handful of other players, each with their own town and through this players can create alliances, trading partners or enemies. Ikariam can be played directly through the games official website and accessed in your web browser without the need of a client download.

KEY FEATURES

- Dozens of buildings to construct to enhance your town
- Build up your own army of units and naval ships
- Developed research to advance your civilisation unlocking new features and abilities
- Gather resources to help your territory prosperous
- Trade with other players or take what you want from them by conquest
- Completely free to play game
- Browser-based gameplay

GAMEPLAY

At its core Ikariam is a city building MMO where players must focus on acquiring resources to advance through the game and build up their civilisation. Players are able to build up their city, expand their own territory, field a huge army and should they need it build a lasting Alliance with other players as they looked to spread their borders across the world. Players can engage in trade or PVP has they send their armies attacking other players in the hopes of purging them and stealing their resources.

RESOURCES

That are five main resources within the game that players will need to acquire in order to be successful in improving their city. The primary resource that is needed for practically every build that a player will need to create is Wood, from constructing and upgrading buildings, creating ships and training up units. After this there are four other Luxury resources; Marble, Crystal Glass, Wine and Sulphur, each of these are used for more later game buildings and units as well as giving access to new features.

All players start on an island that has access to wood and at one of the four Luxury resources, to get ahead in the game players will need to gain access from the other three resources that there island lacks, which can be done by trading with neighbouring islands or raising up an army to try and take their resources for themselves.

BUILDINGS

There are a wide variety of buildings that players are able to construct to enhance their town, everything from an Academy that allows players to employ more scientists to improve their research rate, a Barracks that is used to create a variety of different units for battle and can be upgraded to train troops quicker and unlock new troop types as well as unique buildings that unlock new features such as an Embassy that allows players to create an Alliance with other players. Buildings all require a variety of different resources, time and often certain levels of research before they can be constructed.

RESEARCH

The main drivers behind advancing a civilisation is its Research, once an Academy has been built players are able to assign their citizens to the building where they can explore four different research trees: Economy, Science, Seafaring and Military. Research requires research points to be put into the preferred skill tree, each tree allowing a players civilisation to advance in a certain direction, but ultimately players will need to balance their research between all four trees.

UNITS AND SHIPS

Players are able to train up units and construct ships for the purpose of battle, either for aggressively try to conquer their neighbours or using them to defend their own territory from other players. Each type of unit and ship will have a minimum Barracks or Shipyard level required to build it. Land units can be sent to other towns, either the players or one of their allies but typically they will be used to try and Pillage a rival town to steal their resources. Attacking another player is an automated process once the attacking player initiates the action, based on the attackers units, level and number versus the defenders structural defences and their own defending units will determine who will be the victor.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENT

Web Browser