Contents
Overview
Mammoth gravity battles [1] is a turn-based strategy/artillery game with high quality graphics, featuring 2D and 3D levels, multiple weapons, four-player battles and a story driven campaign. Similar to Death Star Battles/Gravity Wars you aim the shots from your mammoth ships and watch as they fly in all three dimensions pulled by the gravity of the stars, planets, asteroids, wormholes and black holes in each sector. Currently being developed, for release in 2013 on Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Windows Phone 8, Windows PC, Windows 8 RT, Ouya, XBox One, Mac and Linux.
Campaign
A compelling single player story driven play-though: The story mode guides the player through all the games exciting features one at a time, trying not to bore or overwhelm. Its a balancing act. Each of the 50+ levels is a new challenge, introducing a new kind of battle, target, weapon or environment. Some levels at the start will be very easy to complete and unlock the next one, but achieving the full three paw rating will be more of a challenge and will require multiple attempts.
Starting in a quiet backwater, war soon threatens the Mammoths: The first sector of 12 levels will be as part of the Mammoth Deep Space Mining Corp, a rough bunch of mammoths who spend their time in the planar asteroid fields on the edge of the galaxy. These missions will gently introduce the most important aspects of the game, although they are not training missions, there is a separate mammoth school sector for the tutorial. All the mining missions will be on 2D maps and feature one mammoth ship to control and simpler weapons. The first couple of missions are tag and crack work; tag selected asteroids with markers and crack them with mining explosives. After not long bandit mammoths present a problem that needs resolving and a more sinister plot is discovered, war is likely to result.
When war does break out, things get tricky fast: The war missions are more demanding, with multiple ships to a squad, tactics become more important and the introduction of fully 3D levels adds another dimension to the game-play (obviously). Further types of environment keep things changing, as do escort and convoy attack missions and rocket turrets and bases. Its here we first meet the deadly cruisers, large armoured ships that can fire two shots per turn.
The war extends to other nations: With blue and yellow mammoths dragged into the conflict, the missions become highly tactical affairs as three or four teams fight together. The war will only be won if suitable alliances can be formed and then one by one the enemy nations defeated. Ending in a suitable boss-style battle, this should feel like a significant achievement.
Mammoth Games: Following the wars the nations of mammoth decided to hold gladiatorial games to resolve disputes, preventing further conflict. These games are an excuse for pure dual style battles, played over multiple rounds with scoring within the story mode. Expect each level to be harder than the last and the final battles to be extremely tough just to win, let alone score a top rating.
Multi-Player
Four players fight: Up to four players can fight each other, or the computer can step in if numbers are low. The multi-player games are played out over a number of turns with scores awarded for kills, hit accuracy and winning each round.
Battle your way: Multi-player games are played by selecting a game type, which in turn sets the game up with a given play style - so if you are all about skill and accuracy of aiming, then sniper mode is for you; limited crazy weapons, limited movement, small ships (small targets) and a whole load of skill needed to win. Or at the other end of the spectrum, there is a mode of totally over-the-top explosive games; extra weapons, larger ships and explosions. If there isn't a mode that suits your taste, you can set-up a custom game exactly as you want it, you can even change the gravity strength or force a certain type of scenario.
Weapons
Variety Each weapon is distinct, each is useful in different circumstances. There are four types of weapon: Guns, Cannon, Rockets and Bombs, as well as utilities (heal team, shield, hyperspace etc).
Cannon: Cannons are a standard weapon, set the direction and speed of the shot and you are good to go. The faster the shot is, the smaller and less damaging the projectile, so if you are skilful, you will be able to score more damage with low powered shots - although you will find these harder to aim. Cannons do most of their damage from a direct hit, they have a small explosive splash damage effect. Advanced cannons include the triple cannon, a three shot spread firing cannon and the deadly antimatter cannon.
Rockets: Rockets do more damage than cannons, but are harder to aim. The rocket accelerates in the direction it is moving, so you often have to aim quite off target to hit. the power bar of a rocket effects its fuel load, and space not used by fuel is used by explosive so get away with less fuel and you will do more damage. Rockets have a medium splash damage radius, so you only need to hit fairly near your enemy to upset him. The rocket pod fires multiple rockets on one target and is a spectacular display, don't get hit by it.
Bombs: Bombs are very damaging, but are released with low velocities and so are not always a viable option to get high up targets. The bomb goes off only when the timer triggers it, so you have to gauge the timing using the power slide when aiming. Bombs bounce on all planets and stars, so sometimes they can reach parts other weapons struggle with. They also have a massive splash damage radius, nobody is safe.
Guns: Guns fire quite with high velocity, and only do direct damage - there is no splash. The power slider changes the spread of the gun, so you can vary from a wide spread of bullets to a narrow focused shot. The shotgun has a lower bullet velocity but fires a great number of projectiles but the minigun - that is a dangerous weapon!
Weapon Crystals: These bright crystals appear at random and are found inside some asteroids. shooting them releases extra powerful weapons.
