Game Reviews

If you didn't know any better, you might see a game like Risk: Factions and assume it came from videogame crack dealer PopCap Games. After all, it's got the simple yet hopelessly addicting gameplay, colorful visuals, bizarre characters, and goofball charm of a typical PopCap release. And that is something of a compliment to EA and developer Stainless Games, which are the actual brains behind this reworking of the boardgame classic. That this update can invoke the pleasant feelings PopCap games usually tend to speaks highly of its design, and that it still feels like honest-to-God Risk speaks even higher.

Right off the bat, you'll undoubtedly want to know one thing: Can I just play Risk? Yes, you can. The classic strategy boardgame, with its map of the world, numbered units, and dice-rolling attacks are all here in more-or-less untouched fashion. If you like your Risk dry as a corpse in the desert, then you will find precisely what you're looking for here. But what if you are looking for a bit more in the way of whimsy in your Risk gaming? Factions has you covered. The Factions side of the game takes the core gameplay of Risk, and adds something like a billion new elements to it. Apart from several new maps, all with unique terrain, you'll also find yourself with various objectives and specialized weapons scattered all over the place. All of these revolve specifically around control of specific terrain. For instance, if you control the entirety of the terrain on which the “temple” weapon is built, and you're able to hold onto it, you can actually convert an enemy space on the board to your own, armies and all. Or, if you control the “dam” portion of the map, you can flood an entire continent and remove all enemy armies from it.

Acquiring these weapons, as well as hitting other objectives on the board (controlling specific continents, invading a certain number of territories in a single turn, etc.), give you badges that not only give you new bonus abilities (like being able to move multiple armies around before the end of your turn, or getting an extra dice to roll with when attacking), but if you collect three of them, you win the game, flat-out.
That little wrinkle there is actually what turns Risk: Factions from a sometimes plodding game to a frequently hectic one.