Risk: Factions
| Risk: Factions | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Stainless Games |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360 (XBLA) PlayStation 3 (PSN) Windows (Steam) Facebook Platform |
| Release date(s) | 23 June 2010 21 December 2010 (PSN) 09 March 2011 (Steam) |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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| Media/distribution | Download |
Risk: Factions is a downloadable video game for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service, PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, and Windows computers through Steam. The game was announced on January 12, 2010 for Xbox 360[2], December 21, 2010 for PlayStation 3[3], and March 8, 2011 for Windows.[4] It is based on Hasbro's popular board game, Risk The game has both single player and online modes of play.[5] The single player campaign is divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter unlocks one of the games 5 factions. The gameplay in the single player campaign is similar to that of the 2008 Risk rule set. Players must complete three objectives and have control of their capital to win the game. Alternatively, a player may defeat all the opponents to win the game as well. The features added to RISK: Factions that do not appear in the 2008 rule set are overkills, faction abilities, and dynamic terrain. Overkills are awarded when players roll either two or three 6s. If a player rolls 2 sixes he destroys half the opponent's units in the current battle. If a player rolls 3 sixes he destroys all the opponent's units in the current battle.
Contents |
[edit] Factions
- Humans - Leader: General William P. "Fatty" McGutterpants - A jingoistic American sounding general. Is always seen with his pet dog.
- Cats - Leader: Generalissimo Meow - A Hispanic sounding cat dressed like Mao Zedong. Launches an attack on the Humans after a mortar is accidentally dropped on his country and McGutterpants refused to apologize.
- Robots - Leader: Commandant SixFour - An untested automated defense system built by the Humans. Unfortunately, due to its obsolete technology it is incapable of distinguishing friend from foe and declares war on the rest of the factions. His name is a reference to the Commodore 64.
- Zombies - Leader: Colonel Claus Von Stiffenberg (a.k.a "Stiffy") - A hook and eyepatch-wearing zombie who declares war on the other factions after being attacked by the Humans. Like the rest of the faction, he was presumably either an ordinary human or a revived corpse, mutated by an experimental bioweapon launched by Commandant SixFour. His name is a reference to Claus von Stauffenberg.
- Yeti - Leader: His Excellency Gary - A buddhist-like Yeti Monk with a jovial attitude like the Dalai Lama. Ironically, he declares war when General McGutterpants asks his help to bring peace with the other factions.
[edit] Dice probabilities
In the factions game type, it is possible for a player to gain the ability to use up to a fourth dice when attacking and/or a third dice when defending. That, along with the overkill and super-overkill features, makes the probabilities of winning battles different from the original Risk board game rules. Below is a table summarizing the dice probabilities for the factions game type:[note 1]
| Attacking dice | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defending dice | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Attacker loses all | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | |||||||||
| Attacker loses 4 | 7% | 2.8% | 7% | 2.8% | 7% | 2.8% | ||||||
| Attacker loses 2 | 30.6% | 18.2% | 40.2% | 31.2% | 54.4% | 42.1% | ||||||
| Attacker loses 1 | 29.3% | 34% | 41.7% | 82.7% | 74.5% | 58.3% | ||||||
| Both lose 1 | 31.2% | 33.1% | 29.2% | 24.3% | 25.5% | 32.4% | ||||||
| Defender loses 1 | 70.7% | 66% | 58.3% | 17.3% | 25.5% | 41.7% | ||||||
| Defender loses 2 | 23.1% | 36.7% | 18.8% | 35.5% | 11% | 20.8% | ||||||
| Defender loses 4 | 6.7% | 8.0% | 4.0% | 5.8% | 1.6% | 1.9% | ||||||
| Defender loses all | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | ||||||||
| Attacker wins | 30.7% | 45.9% | 70.7% | 23.1% | 41.7% | 66% | 12.6% | 22.7% | 58.3% | 17.3% | 25.5% | 41.7% |
| Defender wins | 38.1% | 21% | 29.3% | 47.7% | 34% | 34% | 61.9% | 44.9% | 41.7% | 82.7% | 74.5% | 58.3% |
| Tie | 31.2% | 33.2% | 0% | 29.2% | 24.3% | 0% | 25.5% | 32.4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
[edit] Reception
Risk: Factions received generally favourable reviews upon release, with a Metacritic average of 77%.
Destructoid praised the developer for not just making a copy of the traditional board game with the console version. The reviewer said: "Clearly a lot of time was put into making sure Factions not only overflowed with personality, but was also able to capture the interest of new players. I can't recommend this game enough, especially at such an affordable price."[6]
1UP.com said that "while the factions aspect could have been fleshed out a bit more, the title still stands as a solid update to the game and a worthwhile purchase for strategy fans."[7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ The probability table makes the following assumptions about the rules of Risk:Factions, which are not explicitly defined:
-
- If both attacker and defender roll an overkill or super-overkill, the defender's overkill overrides and is the only one that counts.
- When a defender is using 3 dice, they are capable of a super-overkill.
- If the attacker rolls an overkill while the defender rolls one or more sixes, the attacker's overkill is cancelled out.
-
[edit] References
- ^ EA Sets Stage for World Domination With RISK: Factions
- ^ Announcement Release
- ^ "Risk: Factions Brings Global War to PSN". IGN. 2010-12-21. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/114/1141327p1.html. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
- ^ "Now Available - RISK Factions". Valve Corporation. 2011-03-08. http://store.steampowered.com/news/5097/. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ Miller, Matt (February 2010). "Xbox Live Arcade gets three new exclusives, and MotionPlus comes to WiiWare". Game Informer (203): 30.
- ^ http://www.destructoid.com/review-risk-factions-177870.phtml Destructoid
- ^ http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3180110&p=4 1UP.com
