Townsmen 6 puts you in the role of France’s liberator

Platform: Android

RATING
5 out of 5

PRICE
FREE

TASTY
Townsmen 6 is a real time strategy (RTS) game that sets the standard for all other similar Android games. Do you have what it takes to fend off the King and liberate France in the name of freedom?

BUMMER
Steep learning curve, finicky control scheme that takes time to master. Ad supported.

COOL
Fans of the Civilization franchise will immediately feel at home in Townsmen 6, especially when it comes to empowering your townspeople (think Workers) to do the heavy lifting for you. Build your city, repel attacks, and use propaganda to spread the word. France needs you!

SIMILAR APPS IN THE MARKETPLACE:
Pocket Empires Online
The Settlers
UniWar
A Brief History of Rome
Battle for Mars

Read all of my Apple iPad and Google Android application reviews at Appolicious and Yahoo! Tech.

In Townsmen 6, the French Revolution is raging across your homeland. It’s your job to work with your local residents (townspeople) to expand your village, construct buildings, gather resources, and generally work day and night to take down the nefarious King.

Freeing France from the King’s tyranny is easier said than done. First there’s a complicated control scheme to master. Add in some oddness from time to time, and it will take you a few hours to really get a feel for for game. Once you’re comfortable, Townsmen really shines. Upgrading structures is a must, and repelling attacks from the King’s soliders can be difficult.

Expect to lose some territory along the way, but don’t give up. You’ll need to put your townspeople to work on your behalf, adding in some much-needed, Civilization-style delegation to work to carry the game along. You’ll also need to gather local resources to power your schemes, and don’t forget to use some good, old-fashioned propaganda to work for you to spread your influence whilst training up your troops to eventually stick it to your King.

Add in some crazy weather AI, an overhead map view to keep tabs on your important work, and a truly non-linear campaign (plus an open-ended mode for hardcore players), and Townsmen 6 roars into my personal top 5 for strategy games on the Android platform.

I recently learned that Townsmen 6 was awarded the “Best Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year” award by Pocketgamer magazine at a recent Gaming Developer’s Conference (GDC). In a recent interview Markus Kassulke, CEO of HandyGames, said: “Townsmen 6 is the highest quality for an international audience and offers unlimited entertainment for all fans so it made perfect sense to bring our game to Android as consumers take to the Android platform in droves.”

Thanks Markus, and Viva la France!

And now it's time for something complete different...



Mario Brothers. With realistic sounds. Strange.