Pocket Fort Review

One o’ the best reasons ta be a pirate is that we have access to things that are less than legitimate and genuine. We have only the best fakes and reproductions that yer doubloons can buy, and at the same time, we be gettin’ and reproducing the fakes. So much so that most o’ the time, we can even convince experts that our product be the real thing.

O’ course, there are times when we get caught red handed, and during those times, the lessons we took from Asia about escapin’ truly comes in handy. Ya see, if ye be caught with fake merchandise while sellin’ to the highest bidder, ye’d better expect that those buyers wouldn’t like what ye do to them. So on the case of creatin’ recreations, here’s our Pocket Fort review.

The Game Play

While a lot of games take a lot of cues from different titles, there is a line that developers can’t cross. These lines define each game with unique ideas, mechanics, or stories that give the title a twist that people would love. Some of these borders might give a wide berth between each game, at other times, the line is thin but it does define each game by their characteristics. The real problem here is when the line is blurred and the other game is just trying to copy other titles. Pocket Fort, unfortunately, is almost a cut and paste game where all of the elements bear too much similarities with other games.

The resource collecting feels very similar to clash of clans, the war feels a lot like Game of War, and there are so many things here you can identify with other games. Of course, since this is a mish-mash of different ideas from different games, they can’t really be taken down for what they’re trying to do. Sometimes, games can benefit from a little copycat behavior because they can enhance the different elements.

This title doesn’t do that, because this title is very derivative and follows the smart phone RTS formula way too closely. You have units, resources, a choice to check out the iAP to buy your way to victory and so on and so forth. Attacking each enemy camp is fun, but gets tiring because enhancing your buildings literally takes hours, but fighting only takes minutes.

The Look

While Pocket Fort doesn’t try to look like any other game, it’s also not very good looking either. The 3D is blocky and very dated even for smart phone standards. Each building is well drawn, but they do become kind of homogenized because there isn’t much definition between each. The User Interface should be noted though, because it is very well organized and presented in a clean way.

In an interesting way though, the graphics are really well suited for Pocket Fort. This dusty old Pirate can’t quite explain this, but a better looking graphic design might actually harm the game’s playability, it seems. I have to say, my crew’s output has dropped dramatically ever since they got a hold of this dandy title. I got a bunch of misfits clicking frantically on their iPhones in the Poop Deck twenty four seven. Gah!

The Verdict

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but at the same time, it’s also boring. In this respect, PF tries to take a lot of parts from different games to make them its own, but fails to realize that there should be a limit to what they can copy. Couple that with some slow and grinding gameplay, and you get a title that is much too dull and same-y to be fun. If you want to pick up a game, there are a lot of other titles that are still free and still fun. But if you want to have a game playing on the side while you look into other titles, then maybe you should take a look at PF.