It is like the Utopia Kingdoms we all wasted three weeks or more of our lives on, only it doesn't suck and make you feel utterly terrible, in fact it is revitalizing every aspect and energy of my life right now when I play it.
In fact it is quite literally the best game I have played in years (as far as casual games go), and coming from someone who has preferred console cash-up-front games to item-buy-model casual online games that is akin to saying I might have just found God.
Here's a piece of artwork from in-game that shows how high-quality the production values are...
And the author's DeviantArt page.
http://genzoman.deviantart.com/art/Cast ... -144314037
The art is pretty much ALL THAT GOOD. I am so inspired by it I can't tell you, it's gotten me rendering in 3D again.
They also have a "Generals" concept that works similarly to systems in games like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and a "Favor Point" system where you can either buy points or earn them at play, eventually giving you the chance to buy better items and/or take gambles on Magic-card-like "Treasure Chests" that have tiered drops and rarity just like Magic and CCGs do.
The art above is the General I got with the single Alpha Treasure Chest roll that I had with the 20 Favor Points they give you - I got REALLY lucky, it's only a 5% chance of getting her tier, she's called an Epic. It's more or less the equivalent of pulling a Black Lotus in your first Alpha pack of Magic cards, I think (minus the insane monetary value of the Lotus, but who knows if these people might introduce a market system for this stuff someday - I think that would be a great idea), because she starts out at 20Attack/20Def while most other Generals start out in the 1-2 range for each. (There are other Epics as strong as she is, however.)
I mean, I'm stunned. I hate pay-to-play and I hate "buy the better items" even more, but I like this game so much I have bought five bucks worth of Points I've only used to send Flowers to people and a phone card from their partners that I never even got the Favor Points from - and I don't care.
I started the Gullwing Alliance on Facebook, which as far as I can tell may already be the most powerful organized guild on there after three days.
This also, not coincidentally, means that if you sign up and join the Gullwings you will be able to advance so ridiculously you'll think you actually spent money on this game. I can make it happen for you people.
Just say the word.
The game name is Castle Age, by the way. The Gullwing Alliance is just my Guild, but you can get to Castle Age from there if you have a Facebook account.
And don't you DARE "too big to fit" that image on me this time, Sine. I'll edit this page to add downsizing tags to the image if you want later, but it's such a pain in the ass.