Battle Nations for Mac

It started as an iOS app, and now it is available on the Mac OS X platform, too: Battle Nations is a free game that combines city-building -- including harvesting resources and creating goods -- with combat, as you are also in charge of training troops and defending territory. While the combination of too many elements results in simplified building mechanics and combat (maybe too simplified), the overall gaming experience is enjoyable.

Everyone has a story, even the virtual characters, and we liked the action-movie type introduction of the characters at first launch; we wondered if this aimed to replace the missing Help file or Support for Battle Nations. The game isn't as intuitive as the developers would probably like it to be, despite the on-screen help. Novice users will feel kind of lost, and they will need to spend extra time working out how the app and its controls work. As the Mac application is exactly the same game that users can download for free from the App Store on their iPad or iPhone, it's interesting to continue the game on a bigger screen that reveals the graphical user interface in full.

While the story isn't one of the game's strengths, some of the characters are fun, especially the young mechanic. We loved the fact that players have some goals to reach. However, the most fun can be had if you don't try to play against the computer, but rather against your friends or someone you connect with on the developer's platform.

During our testing, the game performed well, and it was a more pleasant experience than on the iPhone's small screen; it loads faster. However, there is room for improvement: both the city-building and battle elements are perhaps too simplistic, and advanced-level users may hunger for more.

• New Units: This update introduces the Frontier Barracks with several Frontier Units you can train to fight for the Imperial Army!
• New Land Expansions: We've added 20 new land expansions, giving you even more room to grow your Outpost!
• New Encounters: There are now more Boar and Raptor encounters, which will help players who need to earn more Teeth!
• Housing: In addition to the Taxes you collect, you will now receive XP from all of your Houses.
• Animals: The critters of the Empire continue to evolve and take on new shapes and sizes.
• New Missions & Story Arc: Take on Gantas' Liutenants as we revisit his story arc with new missions!
• New Enemies: Three new enemies appear in the new missions and elsewhere!
• Resource Upgrades: Replace your resource nodes with ADVANCED resource nodes and they will automatically absorb previous upgrades.
• Gears and Bars: You can now purchase these with Nanopods when you experience shortages!
• Additional Bug Fixes, Balance Changes, Stability / UI Improvements, and more!