Iron Grip: Marauders Review

Turn based games are just like chess and Iron Grip : Marauders is no exception. You need to be able to predict your enemy’s moves and plan accordingly. In Iron Grip Marauders, unlike a chess match, you don’t even know where they are coming from.

 

 

Iron Grip Marauders is a turn based strategy MMO game in which you are a pirate marauder. As the title speaks for itself, you will be marauding(raiding) your enemies in this strategy game. If you think you are a a sea pirate , that is not the case in this one. The game is set in future and you are the commander of a spaceship.

 

You will not only be commanding your spaceship but also research new technologies, build your own base and raid for gold and resources like stone and iron.  

 

The game is a mixture of a browser strategy game and a 3D one.  You research, you build your army, trade items in the browser interface and when you raid, you take your army to the 3D section of the game, powered by UNITY 3D engine, and battle with your enemies for gold and other valuables like iron and stone.

 

 

Stone, iron and gold are the main three elements in this turn based strategy MMO game. There are also gems which you can purchase if you like.

 

Create avatar, basic options, female or male, three main races to select, most of the equipment requires purchase.

The main user interface is where you create your avatar, see your character information, interact with other players, browser through quests.

 

When you accept a quest, the UNITY 3D interface loads and you have a bird`s eye view of the field. There are graphic options in the main menu. The fantastic setting makes the game look its best. It’s nothing spectacular but really decent for a browser game thanks to Unity 3D. You can deploy your troops and then assign commands to them. Commands are issued with mouse clicks and you can zoom in and out with your scroll if you want to concentrate on a specific part of the map.

 

Initially you have four units, them being a bazooka team, militias and troopers. Each type of unit is strong against an enemy type. You should learn these and make your attack strategies accordingly, otherwise your units will be wiped out in no time.

 

As in similar turn based games, you have movement area around your troops. Typical to turn based strategy games, you can`t see your enemies on the map until one of your troops is close enough to that enemy.

 

It is wise to move in small steps and keep your troops as close to each other as you can. Once you spot an enemy group they are not going to wait for your backup. When you complete a turn, your enemy might be close enough to you to spot and attack you in one move. Therefore you should make sure you don’t move too quickly. The movements are simple as `click to go to a point` but it would have been better if there were grouping and alignment options for units.

 

Voice acting is limited to units responding to your commands but it’s a nice detail.

 

 

As entertaining as on-field combat is, you are also responsible for Research. In the Research section you can level up scientists and technicians by adding items to research queue. The good thing is this process does not take long and there is a nice process information window that shows the upgrade status. They made the interface with Ajax and you can see everything in real time and instantly add new item to the production queue. Every process takes time and this purely depends on your production rate. You also need to keep increasing your level by gaining XP’s from combats.

 

In storage room you can see your ship’s storage. You can sell the junk items if you like. There is nothing else on there but you should keep an eye on your hold capacity and make sure you have room for valuable items.

 

In the training room you train your recruits by your talented instructors. This is the most critical part of Iron Grip Marauders and you should keep training your combat troops regularly to keep their strength at its maximum. Just like in research section, production rate decides the length of trainings.

 

In black market you can find offers ranging from ambulances to militias and supplies. The offers don’t last long and you should monitor this section periodically and acquire affordable items that meet your needs. There are locked regions to unlock as well. You need GEMS to buy items. If you run out of gems, you can go to IRON GRIP Marauders Store and purchase or just wait and finish some quests to win GEMS for free.

 

 

TIP : Daily Bonus: Each day you login, you get 200 gold, 20 stone and 50 iron as a login bonus.

 

When you have a base, it is all up to you to customize your base. You should make sure you protect it with turrets and troops while you also need to be producing materials such as gold, iron and stone. It is fun and challenging to customize your base.

 

 

As you are told time and time again in the game, being a marauder is mostly about stealing stuff from others. There comes the Raids. This is the serious stuff in this game. Having built your army the way you like, you take them to enemy soil to raid for victory.

 

 

You can join forces with other captains and fight against the bosses or go wild and battle with ther marauders in game to build your domination.

 

 

It’s not easy to find a quality Turn Based Strategy game that is f2p(free to play). The depth of the game is so satisfying, it will keep you busy for weeks. Researching, customizing your own base and building your own army, planning strategies against specific enemies is a real challenge. The browser side of the game is crisp and works smoothly. UNITY 3D powered Battle engine is advanced and looks great. There is no noticable loading times and strategy game elements are very well balanced. Tutorial side with introductory quests teach you the game in a matter of minutes which means anyone can play this game and enjoy it.

 

If you like strategy games, give this one a shot. You will not regret it.