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War of Conquest |  |
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Click here to play War of Conquest War of Conquest takes a different approach. The game is free to play, and brings together thousands of players in the same game world. Players compete to take and hold special areas in the game world that award cash prizes. And there isn't an advertisement of any kind to be found within the game. Instead, money is brought in by charging players for "game credits" that can be used to purchase special advantages within the game - advantages that give the buyer a palpable competitive edge against other players, making it faster and easier to achieve a position that will bring in cash prizes. However, these purchases are not necessary in order to play the game or even to win prizes. "The idea is to draw players in, to get them playing the game, meeting other players, forming a team and having a good time," says Michael Ferrier, Lead Developer of War of Conquest. "Then they can decide whether it's worth it for them to put some money into the game, to make their team more effective and give them a better shot at the cash prizes." Another area where War of Conquest differs from other free online games that offer cash prizes is in how these prizes are won. "A while back I got hooked on a free online game that played just like the tabletop game Battleship, and would award a cash prize if you could sink all the ships with a limited number of shots," recalls Ferrier. "After improving my game over a few hours of playing, I became suspicious, and started to analyse the game statistically. Sure enough, if the ships had been placed randomly, I should have already won some prizes. I realized that the last ship was being placed only when the game was over, to keep players from winning. Sure the game might let the occasional player win, but it was like pulling the handle of a slot machine; the odds were set by the house and there was nothing a player could do about it." According to Ferrier War of Conquest takes a different tack, placing the odds of winning a prize squarely in the hands of the players. "War of Conquest is a strategy game, pure and simple. If you've got winning tactics, if you can pull together a good team, and if you know how to make your team's nation as effective as possible, you'll win cash prizes. On a moment by moment basis there's an element of chance, a roll of the dice. But in the long run it's these factors that will determine a team's success." War
of Conquest is currently in its third stage of beta testing,
and is slated for release in early 2003. You can download the game
and play it now at warofconquest.com. |
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