On the CNC Rivals’ App Store and the Google Play Store pages they claim that "the strategy behind your skills determines victory.” If by skills you mean bills, EA, then I’d have to agree.
CNC Rivals has less in common with the best RTS's of age, and more in common with Pokemon Go: the game itself is only means to an end. The aim here is actually to catch 'em all! It’s more a race to the top levels (and strongest units), than a battle of the wits.
The unfortunate game design is made evident once you combine the “leveling up” race with king of the hill win conditions. In king of the hill, the most important resource is time. Stronger units buy you the most time (they have more hit points, stronger weapons, etc, and thus, can hold territory longer). A player need only slightly stronger units occupying a few of the 6 - 9 nuke-activating spaces on the map to get the V. And guess what! It’s easy to get stronger units… just reach into your wallet.
I shamefully admit that I’ve been an accomplice in the sham. I spent an initial $9.99 when I first downloaded the game, mostly so that I could have what I thought would be a full game. Not only a C&C fan since ’95, but I also believe that hard work deserves pay. I’m saddened to report to other enthusiastic CNC fans however, that ten bucks will not get you very far.
Here’s the thing: you will have “unlocked” all the game’s units at level 60. I say unlocked within quotes because at this point your tough climb up this seemingly infinite ladder has just begun! In order to play with said unlocked units you still need to get their corresponding unit cards in random crates which are worth a lot of money (or just about an entire human lifetime—if you’re willing).
Once luck and dollar have collaborated in your favor, you still need to level up each and every unit at exponentially higher prices per level.
This, my friends, means that you’ll likely die or left poor before you’ve unlocked CNC Rivals’ full potential. (That $9.99 merely got me a chance to play slot machine with a few crates, and unlocked about 1/100th of the game.)
The inescapable truth is revealed: the more you spend on slot machine-like crates, the more you can upgrade your units, the greater your chances of holding the hill. With stronger units, you’ll level up quicker, unlock stronger units still and the sad little pokemon go cycle continues until your wallet is left in an even sadder state.
I’d argue, however, that even unlocking the game’s full potential at the low low price of your inheritance, is not worth it. Once the obsession with leveling up inevitably fades away (and you’ve overcome the embarrassment), you’re left with a silly king of the hill game that lacks depth and excitement and has none of that coveted strategy they speak of.
The sham would be less frustrating however, if us casuals would only be matched with other economically conservative players. The developers however, make sure to put you in a cage with players who clearly have complete disregard for the value of money or time (or both!).
I’m at level 15. I’ve been matched with players who possess units that can only be had at level 56! You can almost hear these players laughing at the comical “battle” unfolding before them, shaming you for not spending this month’s rent upgrading your units.
Yet EA’s not done with the insults! These past two days for example, I’ve been presented with irresistible “deals” that would allow me to level up a SINGLE UNIT for $19.99 (part of their 12 Days of Deals featurette—oh so exciting!). I don’t know how I conjured up the self control to pass this up.
Imagine the inmortal game of chess, but instead of both players starting with the same pieces (and the same probability of winning), one of the players has queens, bishops and rooks, while the other only has pawns and a king. I need not elaborate how pathetic this match would play out.
At this point I must commend the developers of doing such a clever job of disguising such a sham under the cloak of a CNC game. You’re using every trick in the book to cash in as much as you can from our beloved CNC before the jig is up: addictive slot machines, cool-down timers to keep ‘em coming back, progression system that gives you a false sense of hope, and a quick-fix seudo game where victory is more or less random depending on the units at play, etc.
I've been a fan of CNC since its '95 birth. I've awaited every iteration of the game with enthusiasm. I’m afraid this pathetic, slap-to-the-face CNC game only belongs in the trash bin (a catharsis I’ll never get as mobile games don’t come in boxes).
