Big Sandwich Games has brought us an addictive action packed game called Hoard. In Hoard you are a huge fire breathing treasure hungry dragon. Your whole goal is to steal as much money and treasure as you can from the pesky humans building in your land and pushing you out, so one day they will leave. But the fun isn’t about if they leave or not, it’s about burning down, destroying, and making the people fear you!

When you first waltz into the game you’ll find the title screen, of course. You options are single player, multiplayer, rank, and how to play as well as some options and credits. In single player you play against the time just collecting as much as you can, or you can play against computer dragons. But don’t be fooled by the word single player. While other games might not be able to deliver a fun single player experience Hoard certainly can. The computer dragons actually have a chance at winning! With multiplayer you can either choose to create or join, and then you pick your game type.

You can do the “any” option, but also have the choices of treasure, which is all about getting as much gold and treasure as you possibly can in the allotted time, princess rush, which is exactly what it sounds like, you rush around grabbing princesses and bringing them back to your hoard. But that’s not as easy as it sounds because the second you attack her chariot, all the knights in the kingdom come rushing after you and eventually to your door step. You must fend off the knights until you’re able to ransom her off. Also beware of the computer dragon because he will come steal your princess if you are not careful. Like I said, these computer dragons are no joke.

Inside the game there’s so much going on, it’s hard to keep up. Castles are being built everywhere, towns are springing up and making archers, and farms are trading with towns. Carts are going to and from each little town, as princesses are shuttled to the towns as well. All the while theirs thieves trying to steal you loot, knights hunting you down, and archers trying to shoot you down. Oh, and I almost forgot, there’s trolls and magical towers that will spawn from time to time. The trolls will run around smashing towns and castles, taking gold for himself. You can do some damage to him to divert his attention, or go all out, dodging his devastating attacks and claiming the massive amounts of gold in his pockets for your own. The Mage Towers shoot huge balls of lighting that travel almost across the map killing you in almost one blow. If you manage to maneuver around the tower and take it down, you’re rewarded with a huge crystal that is so large it will slow you down as you carry it. Bring it back to your hoard for a huge cash deposit!

To make the game go a little quicker, or sometimes even harder, there’s a thing called a gold multiplier. This will stack up to three times and multiply the gold you bring back or get in ransom by that number. When you die, or a thief manages to get away with some of your gold, the number is reset and you don’t get any extra for your time.

There are so many ways to make money in this game, that you’re always busy. If you’re not out taking princesses or fighting knights, you could be attack the towns to make the towns folk fear you. Eventually when you do enough damage to the town and all the little towns people fear you, they will stop their archers from attacking you, and send you money to keep you from attacking them. Another dragon can of course make them fear them more, but it’s your job to maintain their fear while still doing all the other things a terrifying dragon must do in his busy days.

Now, when you first get into a game you might think it’s going a little slow, or it takes a while to destroy things. But don’t you worry, the more gold you get, the more levels you obtain. When you level up you get to put some points into speed, which of course will make you fly faster and will make it easier to get around the map and avoid enemies. You can improve your fire breath which will make it do more damage and allow you to breathe fire longer. Your carrying capacity is another stat you can improve which allows you to carry more loot and gold. And the final thing you have the option to improve is your armor, making it harder to beat you for the other dragons and any other enemies who try to bring you down.
Also your dragon can acquire power-ups. Some will increase your speed for a period of time, while others make you fire breath fire missiles that shoot across the map. You can even turn your fire into ice breath that freezes your targets in ice while you destroy them. Which is very helpful for fighting against knights and other painful enemies. These power-up just add an extra flare to the game that makes it even faster paced and interesting.

The board game styled maps, and even the sound effects in this game are well done and flow together to make an original experience. It is well put together and can easily suck you in for hours, even when you’re playing by yourself! Hoard is almost like a strategy game, but quicker and more destructive than most. If you enjoy quick game play and hectic atmospheres, Hoard sure does pack a hefty and addicting punch.

Game hard, play happy!

Hayley Clements
Impulse Gamer
United States Team Writer