For over two years now, Clash of Clans has been able to consistently draw new players to the village building and strategic gameplay it provides. The game has generated millions for Supercell, its Finnish publisher, and been the inspiration for countless copycats in the freemium markets.
Despite these growing levels of competition, Clash of Clans continues to acquire new users, and hold on to its fanbase thanks to how high its degree of polish is, how simple the game is to play, and how stimulating the very active community of players is.
It could be likened to FIFA World Cup Betting in this regard, as it simply seems to gain additional popularity every year.
The Dawn of Time
The game opens on a rather unimpressive piece of land, dotted with useless stones and trees as well as some workers, all of whom are diligently awaiting their orders.
A brief tutorial will lay the groundwork: you will be mining gold, displayed conveniently in the form of coins, and harvesting a mana-like substance called elixir, both of which can then be spent acquiring resources to upgrade your Town Hall, setting up a couple of cannons to defend your spot, as well as upgrading your resource farms for a flow of supplies that gets increasingly heavy.
Premium currency is available in the form of gems, and these can be made use of in order to speed up production or to purchase missing resources in order to streamline production.
Freemium Play Has Resources Ending Very Quickly
In common with most freemium games, you will be given what seems like a reasonable endowment when the game begins that will run out almost at once.
A few gems can be located when you remove the trees and stones from your plot, but this process requires you spending gold or elixir, as well as time, and therefore provides little to no relief from waiting.
A Lot of In-App Purchase Options
Admittedly, the polish that Clash of Clans presents seems to have given the developers free reign regarding repeated offers for in-app purchases.
There is no real deluxe content for players to unlock, so you will be tasked with finding a way to pay the game in lesser increments.
While a similar model has been used in most freemium games, the one in Clash of Clans is particularly harsh.
The Best Part is Battling
There is a lot of clashing in Clash of Clans, and this is easily the most enjoyable part of the game. Combat seems to have been a particular focus for the developers, and it shows.
From the barracks you will be required to train your army, and will need to choose whether to wait or pay a gem in order to do so.
You will be starting off with barbarians, who, although fearsome-looking, offer little more than cannon-fodder as the frontline fighters, and time and/or gems will see you getting better warriors as you go along.
If you can bite the bullet and wait it out, or spend the cash required to upgrade as and when you wish to, then Clash of Clans is highly recommended, but it makes for rather mediocre freemium play in our opinion.
