We received a few reader tips that told us that we had to play the new Windows Phone game Beast Quest. We heard that the game had great graphics, challenging game play and was just a fantastic gaming experience. You guys weren't too far from the mark with your recommendation.
Beast Quest is a fantasy RPG game where you play the role of the hero. An evil wizard has enchanted the magical beasts of the land and it is your job to stop the wizard and free the magical creatures from the wizard's influence.
Available for low-memory devices, I have to agree that the graphics with Beast Quest are nice and game play is a challenging mix of scavenger hunting and combat. After playing the game for a few days, we can see why our reader's think this is a fun Windows Phone game to spend a little time with.
Beast Quest opens up to a very simple main menu that has a Play Button and a button to view other games from Mini-Clip. The game launches to a map view of Avantia, the land of magical beasts, which will also show your gaming progress and inventory. You begin your adventure from the snowy peaks of Nanook where the game walks you through a series of tutorials on the basics of game play.
A quick rundown of the gaming screen has your health and gold/gem/potion inventory situated in the upper left corner of the screen. A map thumbnail of the region and a few navigational buttons sit in the upper right corner. Your experience level meter runs along the bottom of the screen.
The navigational buttons in the right corner include:
- A pause button (the hamburger icon) that pulls up options to access the world map, magic store, game options and a few storage chests.
- A button (the trophy icon) to access your gaming achievements.
- A button (the sword/shield icon) to review your inventory and upgrade your skills.
- A button (the book icon) to view your current quests.
Quests range from defeating a number of monsters to finding treasure chests. As you complete each quest, defeat monsters or discover treasures you'll be rewarded in gold or gems that can be used in the gaming store to purchase potions and upgrade equipment.
Movement controls consist of a running button in the lower left side of the screen that will make your character run forwards. You can change the direction of his movement and point of view by sliding your finger around the screen. While your character cannot run backwards, he also won't accidentally (or intentionally) run off a cliff.
When confronted by a monster, the gaming screen will transition to a combat oriented display. You and your opponent's health meters will run across the top of the screen and a collection of on-screen combat controls will line the bottom of the screen. From left to right you have a shield button, a dodge left button, a dodge right button and a weapon strike button. Combat is somewhat turned based with you hacking and slashing at your opponent before he strikes. When your opponent does strike, you can use the shield button or dodge to avoid getting hit.
Potions are available to replenish your health during combat and if you tap/hold the weapon strike button (the sword) you will generate a power strike for bonus damage. It takes a few seconds to generate the energy for the power strike, which may make you vulnerable to attack but generally, it's worth the risk.
Along with the minor monster you will encounter, Beast Quest does have a host of Boss Battles where you will face stronger, more ferocious monsters.
For the most part, game play has your roaming the countryside searching for treasure and monsters that will build up your experience levels to give you a fighting chance at beating the bosses that will come your way.
Overall Impression
Beast Quest makes a good first impression that doesn't fade too much. The Windows Phone game can be rather time consuming and the only nit I can think of after playing the game for the past few days is that the initial load time can be a little lengthy. Fortunately, game play is worth the wait.
Graphics are well done, game mechanics are not cumbersome and the quests will keep you busy. I would have liked to have seen a little more variety in the monsters you face. For example, it seemed like at every turn you ran into a giant wolf in the Nanook region. The do progressively get more difficult to slay but it would be nice to see other creatures come into play.
All in all, Beast Quest is an entertaining title to add to your Windows Phone gaming library. It is a free game with in-app purchase opportunities for extra gold, gems, potions and a few power-ups.
Download Beast Quest for Windows Phone (Free)
