Got a hankering for tactical warfare? How about commanding an army of diverse, magical creatures and using an array of powerful spells to wreak havoc on the battlefield? That's what Epic War 4 is all about; an exciting mishmash of strategic defense and action-packed combat on—as the name implies—an epic scale. Developed by Rudy Sudarto, Epic War 4 is the latest addition to the Epic War series, which began in 2008 as a defense-oriented homage to the Bowmaster Prelude style of gameplay. It wasn't until last year's installment in the series that Sudarto revamped the format, ditching the "arrow turret" mechanic in favor more spells, units and customized "hero" progression. In Epic War 4, Sudarto continues the trend by accentuating these hero paths, adding more units, spells and campaign content.
Epic War 4 features a side-scrolling battlefield, similar to some real-time strategy games like Shadez 2. The player's castle is always located on the left side of the map, opposite the enemy. From here, your objective is to push your army across the battlefield to destroy the enemy's castle. Your heroes and units spawn automatically, using a timer mechanic with diminishing returns (the more your heroes die, the longer it takes for them to respawn). Both heroes and units obey simple movement commands like "charge" and "retreat," as well as individual selection for specific unit placement. You can control just about everything via the point-and-click method, or use a series of hotkeys for more efficient commands. Scroll the camera across the battlefield with the [arrow] keys, use [A] to select all, [S] to select only heroes and [D] to select only units. Specific units can be selected using [Q] through [O] on the keyboard, and [1] to [6] allows quick access to your spells. To confirm all hero, unit and spell commands, just hit the [spacebar].
Each hero is able to "equip" two units, allowing them to fight in battle. Players begin with one hero and one unit, although each "unit" actually consists of up to a dozen creatures, depending on the unit and its upgrade status. (A unit can be anything from a pack of Goblin Warriors to a single Siege Tank.) Spend gold in the "Upgrade" menu to unlock new heroes, units and spells using the familiar RPG-style progression trees. In addition, each hero, unit and spell can be upgraded up to five times to increase its power (health points, attack power, unit population size and spell power). A defining feature of Epic War 4 is the diversity of heroes and units; they all have varying strengths and weaknesses, as well as special abilities. For example, the Succubus unit is quite fragile, but unleashes a devastating ranged AoE attack. Other units, like Pixies, have defensive abilities that can heal fellow units. Because of this "rock-paper-scissors" combat mechanic, players will benefit from equipping different units between battles, depending on the enemy's army and strategy.
Players also have an assortment of spells that play an important role in influencing the tide of battle; offensive spells like "Thunderbolt" and "Ice Blast" inflict damage and scatter enemy units, while defensive abilities like "Healing" and "Shield" offer precious reprieves from overwhelming attack. There's no "cooldown" period for spells, which are cast using a finite pool of regenerating mana. Remember that similar to heroes and units, spells need to be equipped in the "Arrange" menu after they're purchased. Once equipped, each spell icon is displayed at the top of the screen, below the mana bar. Finally, spells are also similar to units in the sense that you can only equip six of them; once you've unlocked more than that, you'll have to choose the right combination for the battle.
Analysis: Like its predecessor, Epic War 4 emphasizes large-scale, battlefield combat rather than turret/castle defense. You'll still have to protect your base from hordes of enemy soldiers, of course—but the real gameplay is all about massive ground clashes, as opposed to the clichéd defense mechanic of picking off targets from a distance. Epic War 4 features the heated action of real-time strategy without burdening the player with resource management or frivolous, tiered production rules. Automatic spawning means the only thing you need to worry about is when to attack, when to retreat and when to cast spells.
Initially, it might seem a little too easy, as if you can just send your entire army to the enemy's castle, sit back and wait for victory. Indeed, in early levels (set on regular difficulty), that might sometimes be possible. But after the first few stages—especially if you choose "Hard" or "Epic" mode—you'll be in for quite a challenge. To overcome the enemy's army, you'll have to learn when to pull your forces back, the optimal ranking order of your heroes and units, and when to fire off specific spells for maximum effect. One of the worst things that can happen is allowing your heroes to fall; the production of new units equipped to that hero will grind to a halt until it respawns, leaving you vulnerable to an overwhelming enemy rampage.
For all its merit as a fun and engaging strategic defense game, Epic War 4 isn't without its flaws. The controls—as simple as they are—feel "sticky" at times, especially when using the point-and-click method. Even if you play it safe by using [spacebar] to confirm all movement orders and actions, there are some areas of the map where heroes and units sometimes won't respond. The developer neglected to include a handful of simple features like quicker scrolling, auto-saving, the option to speed up gameplay and an indicator for spell duration. Graphically-speaking, Epic War 4 is somewhat demanding because of the sheer number of units and effects on-screen at once. As a result, the character and spell animations are rendered at what appears to be a shoddy, low frame rate—although it's probably the only thing keeping the game from slowing to a crawl on older systems.
Despite these issues, Epic War 4 is a blast to play if you're a fan of the strategy, tactical warfare or defense genres. The new-and-improved upgrade paths provide a satisfying layer of character progression, motivating the pursuit of better units and spells (and eventually, one of several massive "Titans" that demolish everything on the battlefield). The aforementioned "Hard" and "Epic" difficulty modes extend the 12 campaign levels, and four additional "Challenge" stages provide unique scenarios, like the comical "Goblin Madness," with dozens of the little buggers falling from the sky. If you're in the mood for a battlefield warfare game that doesn't involve the oh-so-popular "turret" mechanic, Epic War 4 offers a refreshing, sword-clashing, shield-bashing change of pace.
[Note: The "Blood and Gore" graphics setting can be turned off via the in-game options menu.]
There is one additional playable hero available exclusively at Kongregate.
Walkthrough Guide
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Epic War 4 Upgrade Tree
There are 4 "sections" of the upgrade tree, and I'm sorting them by the starting hero in each tree. The 4th tree can be unlocked when any of the other heroes are upgraded to level 3.
Each unit/spell/ability is going to have its pre-req in parentheses. Abilities are permanent bonuses that don't have to be activated. You can have 3 heroes, 6 units, and 6 spells available in any mission.
Viegraf the Red:
Viegraf the Red (starting hero, melee)
Goblins (start): Quick, flimsy melee unit
Mad Bull (Goblins): Medium melee unit
Comet Shot (none): Small AOE damage. Spell.
Phantom Ghost (Comet): Light melee unit
Gate (Phantom Ghost): +500 castle hp/level. Ability.
Mighty Guardian (Gate): Heavy melee unit; some knockback
Rage (Mighty Guardian): Attack power boost. Spell.
Thunderbolt (Gate): Medium AOE damage. Spell.
Lord of Fire (Thunderbolt): Melee Titan with high-damage AOE spin move
Popo the Dwarf:
Popo the Dwarf (none): Fires a spiked ball that explodes, each spike does high damage. Hero.
Orangutan (Popo): Heavy ranged unit. Throws bouncy rocks.
Rain of Arrows (Orangutan): Medium AOE spell.
Dwarf Engineers (Popo): Short-ranged, cheap ranged unit
Berserk (Engineers): Boosts crit chance. Spell.
Ka-Boom (Berserk): Self-destructing melee unit.
Epic Tank (Ka-Boom): Tank with exploding shot.
Iron Wall (Epic Tank): +1000 castle hp/level. Permanent.
Great Diablo (Iron Wall): Titan, Melee attack
Simon the Magician:
Simon the Magician (none): Hero, AOE ranged freeze
Healing (Simon): AOE Heal. Spell.
Pixie (Healing): Healing unit. Does no damage.
Guild (Pixie): +20% money gain per level. Permanent.
Succubus (Guild): Ranged unit with AOE knockback
Ice Blast (Succubus): Medium AOE spell.
Sky Dragon (Ice Blast): Titan, large AOE breath attack. Penetrates all types of damage resistance.
Sylph (Healing): Ranged ice knockback attack
Altar (Sylph): +40 mana per level. This also increases mana generation.
Shield (Altar): Temporary invulnerability. Spell.
Cassandra the Queen:
Cassandra the Queen (any other hero at level 3): Fires 3 stun arrows
Tower (Cassandra): Spell, cast once, fires continuous arrows like EW1 or 2 tower.
Untamed Beast (Tower): Heavy melee unit. Yeti in EW3.
Were-Tiger (Beast): High-attack melee unit
Phoenix Strike (Were-Tiger): Line attack spell.
Kara the Slayer (Phoenix Strike): The 5th hero. Melee AOE knockback attack
Forest Hunter (Cassandra): Centaur archers from EW3.
TimeStop (Forest Hunter): Stops enemy movement and attack temporarily. Spell.
Elf Sniper (TimeStop): Archer
Valkyrie (Sniper): Medium melee unit with a powerful knockback
Celestial Angel (Valkyrie): Titan. Has an attack I can't quite describe.
Fortress (Sniper): +1500 castle hp/level. Permanent.
Meteor Blast (Fortress): Large AOE attack. Penetrates all types of damage resistance.
Posted by: Lifthrasir | July 21, 2010 9:46 PM
How to get the final levels done (the challenge ones)
Challenge 1
Hmm, they're flailing goblins everywhere. Whatever, they're still goblins, and your troops will take care of them easily... wait, are those red goblins? The buggers hit pretty hard, huh? Whatever, they're not invincible or anything. Oh, there comes a black one.
As you've probably seen, the black one hits EXTREMELY hard, and is completely impervious to just about all of your attacks. Now how do you get past this guy?
Bringing the sky titan along will help, as his breath hits a wide range and has multiple hits. This'll help keep the goblin back, at least. Another idea is to use units that rush forward when attacking. A were-tiger does a pretty nice job of rushing past and is pretty capable of smashing the fodder goblins too. And don't forget to bring along Popo! I've found that stray spikes from his exploding ball damage the enemy castle anyway. With all this in mind, it's just a matter of blowing back the black goblin all the time, and this battle is won.
Challenge 2
Well, looks pretty basic... goblins, minotaurs, nothing unusual, let's just OMG WHAT'S THAT FREAKING GIANT BOMB DOING THERE! Better don't let it get to the castle! Problem is, unless you've really grinded a lot, your regular troops won't do much. What now?
Popo the Epic Dwarf is the key, again. His spiked balls can sometimes land right in the middle of the bomb-car, causing massive damage. The car is even slower than Popo, so adjust his position when needed. Apply berserking and the car will soon explode, completely wiping out your troops but saving your castle. Now you can kill the enemy castle. Finally!
Challenge 3
What, there's an enemy on the board already?... whoa, that's a big bugger. Better kill it to make sure OMG BIG SWORD!!!
Baal has a massive sword, which he slams down upon your troops before they can get to him. I've sometimes seen Viegraff sneak past, but he doesn't seem to be able to smash the demon. And the big firepower guys are way too slow to get past that sword...
Bring the fire titan lord and a shield ability. Maximized if possible. By the time the lord shows up, you should have enough mana for two shield-inations, which is long enough for the firelord to reach Baal. Then he starts wailing away at him. Just let him kill the guy, it takes a while. Check on him now and then and apply berserk when you do. When he falls, your fire titan will quickly have annihilated the enemy castle.
Challenge 4
Now this is truly impossible. An angel? With an all-eviscerating charge attack? Are you guys kidding me?
I didn't yet complete this challenge, but it's a good idea to throw heap after heap after heap of goblins at it. It really slow the boss down. Using shield to get heavier troops into its vicinity is also a plus. I can't really say much more. Good luck!
Posted by: Chaotick
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July 24, 2010 3:06 AM
A much easier way to finish the first three challenges on normal, being that the second can easily be beat on Epic for lots of cash.
Challenge 1: Goblin Madness
OK, so the first thing you will notice is the huge amount of goblins appearing on screen. Don't be scared, any heroes can easily deal with that until you are done. I myself prefer not to use any Titans on this challenge. The key is to have the Meteor Blast skill. The black goblin that will eventually appear is impervious to any and all elemental damage, including melee. However, the Meteor Blast deals non-elemental damage(as do the Sky Dragon and Angel, but they take up space and are far too slow to do anything useful.)If you have Altar maxed up, the goblin should appear at about 300 mana, enough to send 2 meteor blasts at him, which is sure to kill it (wait until it stops moving for a sure hit). Now just lead an assault and leave either Dwarves or Goblins close to your castle to stop the flying ones from reaching your castle and ruining your score.
Challenge 2: Stop the BigBang
This is probably the easiest challenge possible. Be sure to have Shield and Timestop spells ready. Shield at level 1, otherwise Hard and Epic won't work as fast. I suggest having the fastest team you can, Goblins, Dwarves, Phantom Ghosts and Were-Tigers prefferably. With all units you use maxed, you can beat Epic with Popo, Kara, Phantom Ghosts and Were-Tigers, though it takes more time and makes grinding more painful. Now, back on topic, assault as soon as your heroes finish loading. This should give you a castle at lower than half it's health on normal before the bomb comes up. Wait until it gets close to Popo's nail bomb, since if it hits it in the middle it can be killed very fast. use timestop at that time. When you notice it has no health, don't hesitate, or you might have to wait a lot: use shield. now just wait a bit while your creatues finish hacking off at the castle, and you win!
Challenge 3: Tyrant Lord Baal
This was the hardest of the 3. Lord of Fire is a must, Goblins help and avoid ranged units. Diablos are useful, but not for very long, and much more unreliable than Lord of Fire. Be sure to have Shield, at level 1 preferably. Wait on the spot until your Lord of Fire finishes loading, then select goblins. march them, and most will get past his sword before he hits. some will keep attacking and get behind him, and he will turn to strike at those. when he turns, march your Lord of Fire. When he turns again, use shield immediatly. use shield when it has 2 second remaining until yourd Lord of Fire reaches the spot. So as not to be just 'stay AFK and wait' now, wait until your mana is maxed and use shield and send out a full assault(stop the goblins first if you didn't already.). keep the shield on until they reach, and it will progress much faster, considering that many will stand at his front, keeping him busy, while others get past, decimate the army after him and start hacking the castle. now you can go AFK without much problem.
Posted by: an alien | July 24, 2010 10:30 PM