Battle of Puppets review - castle vs. castle game that features puppets and opera

Courtesy of Small Wonders

The App Store contains several real-time strategy games that feature castle vs. castle gameplay, which is essentially a 2D sidescroller where players have to demolish the castle on one side of the screen while protecting theirs on the other. Such iPhone games include Ancient War, Galaxy Front, and XenoWars.

But never before has the App Store contained such a strategy game that features puppets duking it out like Battle of Puppets. And they aren't just any puppets, but puppets who star in world famous operas such as Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and Aida. When these puppets clash in battle, they do it with flair on a stage and use props as their outposts and castles. For those who are worried about the puppet violence factor, take heart in knowing that no puppets die in this game; they are just yanked off the stage by their strings. The ultimate goal is to conquer the stages of various cities and eventually take over Broadway. What puppet doesn't want to star on Broadway?

Like any other castle vs. game, players use gold to create their puppet warriors and send them out into battle. As the castle levels up, sturdier and stronger puppet warriors can be created. With each enemy taken down, more gold is earned that can be used to create more puppets or level up the castle. In addition, when specific cities are conquered, players learn new magic spells to help their puppets, such as blinding them with a light show or bringing on a repairman to rebuild the outposts and castle. These spells are activated by drawing specific gestures on the screen and can be activated as often as the player would like, at least as often as the spells can reload.

The art style, simply put, is absolutely charming. The puppets and their props are adorable. The details in the stage settings, especially with the scenery constantly changing, are masterfully done and make you fully appreciate the pains Small Wonder took in perfecting the look and feel of the game. Even the controls are well done. They are the typical controls one finds in iPhone castle vs. games, but even the gestures are as easy to draw and perfect as the simple tap controls for creating puppets. Some games that require drawing gestures either implement complicated figures to draw or there are sensitivity issues with drawing correctly. I found neither of these issues here, and I'm a terrible artist.

No matter how charming this game is, if you don't enjoy castle vs. strategy games, you won't be swayed to like this one either. That said, even if you only become mildly enthusiastic at the thought of playing a castle vs. game, you should play Battle of Puppets. If the strategy gameplay doesn't grab you, the fine detail and the amazing art style definitely will.