Full Review

Watching the trends on the App Store can be an amusing hobby as it acts as a sort of miniaturized replica of the greater game market. Turn-based titles are getting their 15 minutes of fame at the moment and with a rich history backing up the genre there's plenty of room for varied games to shine. Tactical Soldier - Undead Rising by Full Control combines a 'science gone mad' storyline with a military base to give players access to plenty of angry zombies and heavy weaponry, though its sluggish pacing can make it a hard game to enjoy in short bursts.

Even if you're not familiar with tactical turn-based titles, the game makes jumping in easy with an intuitive touch interface and handy indicators to highlight your chances of success in combat, however omissions like the inability to manually reload weapons makes little sense and can put you at a distinct disadvantage when fights start. Needing to tap twice to confirm (most) actions allows players to consider their actions carefully, but a forced delay prevents actions from being performed quickly and animations can't be sped up making most fights ponderous, especially when you have to wait for zombies to finish their turns. This persists even outside of combat, making moving around stages with multiple characters a chore.

Much of the game's challenge will come from trying to move in a formation that provides defense while maximizing the effectiveness of your various weapons (including basic weapons such as pistols and ranging up to heavy weapons like machine guns). As you progress you'll earn skill points that can be used to specialize each member of your team, increasing their odds of survival and their accuracy with weapons.

As tactical turn-based games go, Tactical Soldier hits the middle ground in almost every aspect, featuring a thin storyline, basic combat and a simple upgrade system for some customization. The game's only real highlight is its 2D and 3D visuals, but even that is diminished by camera controls that make something as simple as rotating the camera challenging.

If you're itching for another turn-based title, Tactical Soldier - Undead Rising is a decent choice, but there's no reason to play it above any other similar game at this time.

App Store Info