“Hoardzz” is an interesting combat game for up to 1-4 (local players). I first heard about it when “Interview with the student development team “Angry Newton” (who produced the excellent game Mr. Gravity)”. It reminds me of those old arena top-down tank combat games, but with a few key additions: larger armies, neutrals that you can convert to your side, and the ability to merge your units to create more powerful units with which to attack your enemy.
What I like about it is that you’re forced to divide your time between converting neutrals and attacking the enemy. The gameplay also effectively auto-adapts between those who like large armies of weaker units, or those who like to try to romp over the enemy with a few powerful units. The game offers lots of difficulty levels for solo play, what the author promises is “great” AI (and it does offer a challenge), and 7 arenas to fight over. But, as always, it’s best with friends over. Think of the game as kind of a meld of real-time strategy, and top-down arena action games, which is a pretty neat idea actually. Only 80 Microsoft Points.
Here’s what the developer (gamemakersanonymous) has to say about the game:
“Gather your friends and family for an exciting 4-player adventure! Gather armies of bugs to build the largest hoard, then convert them into 3 different attack bugs to be the last bug standing! With 7 levels, 4 difficulty levels, and great artificial intelligence, prepare yourself for hours of competitive game play!”
Writings of Mass Deduction 