While I have always considered myself to be on the higher end of the pop culture nerd scale (I actually cried during X-Men: last stand), I have never gotten into the role playing games (RPG) craze. I feel like maybe I have been missing the boat on those games, that’s why I was particularly excited to try out the new RPG game City King for my iOS devices.
City King has an interesting premise; it is a role playing game that uses GPS to incorporate real world locations into your game play. While playing City King you become a knight that must battle goblins and mythical beast in order to secure locations across your city. The game automatically accesses your maps and will turn locations near you, such as the post office, into a battle ground or training center. You earn points by securing and taking over as many locations as possible. It also allows you to connect with friends and shows you what parts of the city they have taken over.

City King Gameplay: A New Way to Check-in to Win

When you first open the City King app it prompts you to log on through Facebook and will not let you to continue the game unless you do so. The app will then post a status update whenever you play the game. I could not figure out how to turn the status updates off, and this feature of the game was a turn off. I personally do not want my Facebook followers to get an update every time I play the game – but you may not mind.
The main menu of the game allows you to choose between six icons: Maps, Friends, Inventory, Shops, Side Kicks and Missions. The Maps icon will show your city and battle field locations but needs time to load up and sometimes takes over a minute before you can begin. I have never encountered an iOS game that has more than a few seconds of loading time. Having to wait more than 30 seconds to play a game can be annoying and cause many players to lose interest.
Start playing City King — as a knight battling goblins and skeletons — it becomes engaging and fun. The only issue is that the levels are short with just a minute or two of game play before you become ‘lord’ of a building and must move on to the next location. The controllers to the game are easy to use and buttons appear on the screen which allows you to attack and jump. The graphics are crisp and clean for both the iPad or iPhone devices.

City King Final Thoughts

As interesting as the premise City King had of incorporating familiar locations into your game play, it was an app that was unable to hold my attention for long. The loading times and Facebook logins where negatives for me. But maybe I was not the target demographic for the game. The developer website states the game to be for 9+. I let two of my nephews, 9 and 14 year old boys, try out the game and they were both interested in the concept. They immediately found their school on the map and quickly took over the location. But after a few minutes of playing City King, they also seem turned off by the loading times.
City King has the potential to be an engaging game once the developer’s work out some of the bugs. If you’re an adult looking for your next iOS addiction, this game may not have the depth to keep you coming back. But if you’re looking for an engaging game you can play with the kids, this app offers a unique spin on location-based gaming.

City King Video Review

For another view on City King for iPhone, check out this video review from DailyAppShow.