Sons of Ra

If you enjoy real time strategy games and tower defense games, Sons of Ra could be just the game you are looking for. It has a really cool Egyptian mythology thing going on that I thought was a lot of fun and it gave the game a setting that not too many other games make an attempt at trying to cover.

Who Will Rule Egypt?

The premise of the game is pretty cool. The Pharaoh has died and now his power is up for grabs. The people in charge of lower and upper Egypt see this as a chance to grasp the power for themselves. This leads to war over the land as each ruler wants to stamp their authority on the land of Egypt. The premise is great, but I do wish they went a bit more in-depth with the storytelling as I think they could have done a bit more in this regard.

The Board, The Game, The Game Board

The visuals of Sons of Ra are something that I really liked. Instead of trying to be hyper-realistic, this game has gone for the look of a board game. Each map is a different board game design and the characters are like the playing pieces. It is a really cool effect and one that made me think more strategically as I played. I am not exactly sure how that worked out, but it did!

The visuals are the kind of thing that when you see them on a video or a screenshot, you do not think they are all that great. However, they have a great deal of charm and I think the game would not have had as much charm had they went for a more realistic look.

Getting Ready For War

As is the case with any kind of real time strategy or tower defense game, the gameplay is what will make or break it. I found Sons of Ra to be a lot of fun to play. The way that you tackle each match will differ. You need to try and set up towers to defend your own base, but you can also use this as a way to try and funnel the enemy to an area of the board that you want them to be at so you can unleash a devastating attack. The game gives you a great selection of characters to use. You have spearmen who are great in large numbers, archers who can attack from afar and you have others such as these guys with shields that can provide protection. You also have to pick a deity and each one has their own special ability such as Anubis who will pretty much give you an army of the dead! It is very cool stuff and while it does have a hefty learning curve. It is worth sticking with and learning.

Pros:

• I loved the setting and the idea of the game
• It is the kind of game that is a lot of fun to play against others
• I liked how each deity had a special ability
• The way the game is like a board game is really cool

Cons:

• There is a rather large learning curve here
• Playing against the AI is nowhere near as much fun as playing against another human