• 360

by TheDCD on 08.22.10

Electronic Arts and Hasbro have been doing well with their partnership, bringing back several board game favorites for the Hasbro Family Game Night collections.  Now the next product is available for download, and fans of the original game will no doubt recognize its charms…well, if you would call them charms, anyway.

Risk: Factions is a kiddie-friendly take on the classic strategy game.  Granted, if you’re still about the realistic war setting that the board game provided, it’s here in Classic mode, so you can still experience it for everything it was when you were younger.  However, Factions is the main draw, if only because it turns the usual Risk formula on its head with some random silliness.  The goal is to still dominate your opponents, in this case cats and yetis (we always knew they were eager for an uprising, we just didn’t know when), by building up your opposition and slowly, but surely taking over their territory.

Risk: Factions relies heavily on strategy, just as the original game did, but where most turn-based strategy games let you decide your fate, here, like in the original Risk, it’s all about dice rolls.  Roll the die in your favor and you’ll easily conquer the world.  Screw up too many times, and Yugoslavian housewives will end up with more power than you.  (They’re not in the game, relax.)  That’s the problem with Factions.  Like the original, there’s a bigger reliance on luck rather than skill.  This may be fine for rookie players, but for those of us that know what we’re doing as we amass enormous armies, it’s sad to see it all wash away just because the wrong side of the die came up.

Worse yet, there isn’t much to the campaign mode.  You’ve got five main missions, and all that’s left after that are multiplayer options.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re good, especially if you’ve got hardcore Risk fans in your friend group.  You can play locally or go online and tackle the world through your respective game service.  However, again, matches come down to a decision of the dice, and some people aren’t exactly fair sports, pulling out of a match just because their number didn’t come up the first few times.  You’ve been warned.

EA did put a tremendous amount of effort into the game’s presentation, and that’s the main reason to put up with Factions’ heavy reliance on luck.  The visuals are charming, and the overworld map is fairly easy to see, so you can keep an eye on your territories while watching what other characters are up to.  (Damn Yeti.)  The audio is great too, with lots of spirited character voiceovers and war-engaging music.

Still, we can’t recommend Risk: Factions if you weren’t a fan of the original.  You’ll likely be frustrated by the gameplay set-up and losing a match, even if you think everything is going your way.  However, if you’re a fan of the original game or have friends that don’t mind determining their fate by a roll of the dice, this game might just be worth the Risk.

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