Star Wars: Force Arena
Developer(s)Netmarble Monster
Publisher(s)Netmarble
SeriesStar Wars
Platform(s)Android, iOS
ReleaseJanuary 12, 2017
shut down: January 12, 2019
Genre(s)Strategy

Star Wars: Force Arena is a discontinued 2017 Star Wars-themed player versus player real-time strategy mobile game from Netmarble and Lucasfilm Games, involving characters and military units that appeared in all major Star Wars film installments released before 2019. Players command various Star Wars military units in a card-powered multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). It was released on January 12, 2017, for Android and iOS.

It generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. On the game's first anniversary it had reached 6.5 million players. Servers were shut down on January 12, 2019, and the game was removed from digital storefronts. Critics gave high marks for the game's graphical and sound presentation. Gameplay reception was mixed. Reviewers generally praised the MOBA aspects of the game, but were more critical of card collecting aspects. There was also division in regards to digital purchases. Some critics felt no need to spend money on the game, while others noted it suffered from pay-to-win mechanics prevalent in mobile games.

Gameplay

Force Arena was a real-time strategy game that could also be played online as a multiplayer online battle arena.

Early versions of Force Arena were set in the Rebellion era of the Star Wars storyline, until an update on August 14, 2017, added content from the Clone Wars era[1] and a November 9, 2017 update included the New Republic era.[2] Players control customized squads of characters and vehicles in a card-powered multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) environment in the vein of Clash Royale,[3][4] where the goal is to destroy the enemy squad's automatic defense turrets and shield generator to open their base to an airstrike. The myriad of playable squad leaders and unique assistants not only include characters that appear in the films, but also characters who appear in spin-off films, TV series, and Marvel-published comic books, like Rogue One, Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Princess Leia,[5][3][4] as well as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Solo: A Star Wars Story

Every squad is headed by a leader character, which has a special ability that the player can reuse at will after a certain amount of time passes, as well as some passive abilities.[6] Many leaders also each have a unique counterpart, which may be a side character or even a spacecraft strafing run, which can only be used with the character with whom they are paired. When a leader is defeated, they will respawn near the shield generator after some time passes, during which the player is unable to deploy any cards. The respawn time penalty also increases for each subsequent defeat, up to a maximum of ten seconds.[7]

Development and legacy

Star Wars: Force Arena was developed by Korean studio Netmarble and published in conjunction with Lucasfilm Games. It was announced in November 2016,[5] The game received a soft launch on November 4, 2016, in Australia and Singapore, where it was released under the title Star Wars: Battlegrounds.[8] The game was later showcased in November at G-Star 2016.[9] A full release followed on January 12, 2017, for iOS and Android.[3][10] For Star Wars Day 2018 two 40th anniversary characters were released based on Ralph McQuarrie's concept art: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.[11] On December 19, 2018, it was announced that the game would be shutting down on March 18, 2019. The game was no longer available for download after January 17, 2019,[12] and the game shut down as scheduled.

Reception

Star Wars: Force Arena received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[13] On the game's first anniversary the developers revealed that the game had reached 6.5 million players.[16]

Gameplay aspects received mixed impressions from critics. Reviewers generally praised the MOBA aspect of the game. iMore's Luke Filipowicz stated that "I always felt I had the opportunity to win, even in the matches where I would get trampled by my opponent."[7] Android Central's Mark Lagace similarly lauded the battles, noting "the strategy and action it delivers in battle is as good as it gets."[6] Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer noted that the three minute timed rounds lead "to some excellent, frantic battling."[15] Other critics gave high marks for the game's short battles.[14] Inversely the star card mechanics were often a point of criticism. Lagace noted that when aside from the MOBA battles Force Arena "is but another card collecting game."[6] Some critics took note that the game did not require players to purchase cards with real-world currency in order to succeed. "I never felt the need to make in-game purchases" noted the reviewer from Yahoo! Life.[17] iMore's Luke Filipowicz disagreed. "If you want to reach the top of the leaderboard, you'll have to spend money", he stated in his review.[7]

The graphics and sound were universally praised by reviewers. GameZebo's Nick Tylwalk noted that "graphics are super sharp, especially impressive on the leader characters, and the music and sound effects are instantly recognizable."[14] This sentiment was echoed by other critics. Android Central's Mark Lagace stated "Nailing the look and feel of Star Wars is important for fans, and this is easily the best-executed I've seen and heard on mobile."[6] iMore's Luke Filipowicz appreciated that character designs are crisp and distinct, and that it was easy to differentiate between units on the battlefield.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Mayhew, Ash (August 17, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena just got 16 new iconic characters". DroidGamers. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ Compendio, Chris (November 9, 2017). "Kylo Ren and Rey Finally Join Mobile Game Star Wars: Force Arena". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Brooks, Dan (January 12, 2017). "Dream Teams: How Star Wars: Force Arena Puts You in Control of the Galaxy's Greatest". StarWars.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Star Wars: Force Arena". Netmarble Games. Retrieved July 26, 2017 – via StarWarsForceArena.com.
  5. 1 2 Minotti, Mike (November 17, 2016). "Star Wars: Force Arena for mobile sure looks like a MOBA". VentureBeat. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Lagace, Mark (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review". Future plc. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Filipowicz, Luke (January 20, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review: The hectic MOBA is enjoyable and imperfect". Future plc. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  8. ↑ 정필권 기자 (2016-11-04). "[뉴스] 다스베이더 골라서 한판? 넷마블, '스타워즈: 배틀그라운드' 소프트론칭" (in Korean). inven.co.kr.
  9. ↑ kongbakpao (2016-11-08). "Star Wars™: Battlegrounds – Soft Launch". kongbakpao.com.
  10. ↑ Shaul, Brandy (January 12, 2017). "Netmarble Launches Star Wars: Force Arena on iOS, Android". AdWeek. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ Vincent, Britney (May 4, 2018). "Celebrate Star Wars Day with Star Wars: Force Arena". Shacknews. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Acebedo, Bayani Miguel (19 December 2018). "Star Wars: Force Arena is Shutting Down". Epicstream. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Star Wars: Force Arena for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  14. 1 2 3 Tylwalk, Nick (January 16, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena Review". Gamezebo. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Slater, Harry (January 12, 2017). "Star Wars: Force Arena review - A MOBA from a galaxy far, far away". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  16. ↑ Chan, Stephanie (January 16, 2018). "Star Wars: Force Arena turns 1 with 6.5 million players for its card-based battler". VentureBeat. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ Yahoo staff (January 26, 2017). "Review: 'Star Wars: Force Arena', A New Mobile Game for Star Wars Fans". Yahoo! Life. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
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