Space Harvest Review

By , on January 21, 2011


Space Harvest
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Solid RTS features; mass unit selection, rally points, etc.
  • Semi-intelligent AI; constantly corrects positioning/pathing.
  • Beautiful visual design despite small file size.

CONS

  • No saved groups; unable to quickly select units while in another area.
  • No mini-map or similar feature.
  • Lengthy gameplay with no save/check points.

VERDICT

Space Harvest doesn't revolutionize the RTS for iOS devices, but for such a small size it packs a hell of a punch with its solid mechanics and beautiful design.


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It's best that you don't concentrate too hard on the story in Space Harvest by All-Seeing Interactive as it's liable to make your head hurt. Lets be honest, all I need to know in a real-time strategy (RTS) is what I need to harvest and who's trying to steal it from me - the rest is fluff to justify having crazy technology!

So while you're sending off your harvesters to collect precious, precious mushrooms (don't ask) you'll need to amass a killer army of units to steamroll your way through the enemies base. Traditional RTS titles are in short order on the App Store and not without good reason either as creating an efficient control system to manage your base and units is extremely difficult with a touch interface. Space Harvest opts for a few shortcuts that are easy to learn, with taps to select units/buildings and to issue orders; double-taps to select similar units or to enter see a building's available options; and a drag-select system to group units in mass amounts. Additional interface elements like a unit counter provide advanced options (including the ability to 'hold' positions) and buildings can be dropped anywhere on the map as long as you have the cash and energy to power them.

All of this takes place in a bizarre and beautiful pixel-art inspired world filled with strange and colorful environments and easy to recognize units that behave with surprising intelligence despite the limitations of the blocky visuals.

Unfortunately a lot of the joy of playing Space Harvest is let down by something as simple as the lack of any ability to save your progress; each level can take a long time to complete if you're not already familiar with the layout of the map, making restarts an all-too familiar situation.

For a game that can be downloaded via 3G, Space Harvest is surprisingly deep and it's easy to forgive some of its shortcomings given the complexity of the game that's presented, but this is definitely one for fans of RTS games as it's a little too unforgiving for casual audiences to enjoy.

Screenshots

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