Inside Social Games

After seeing one clone after another on the Facebook Platform, it is refreshing to see something original. Then again, that’s nothing new for the folks over at Playfish. Today, we take a look at their latest release: Crazy Planets.

In Crazy Planets, players and their Facebook friends wage an intergalactic war against the likes of evil robots and aliens and their dreadful “Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulators.” Okay… maybe not quite that far, but the robots do get bazookas and the like in a Worms-style fashion. Luckily players are armed similarly and must blow up enemy forces with a surprisingly modern arsenal.

Here’s how it works: Players are granted, at the start, with a simple bazooka and grenade weapon that follow basic physics allowing them to bounce and arc various projectiles. Of course it’s not as in depth as the original Worms games, but it does have that pleasant feel (sadly the terrain cannot be destroyed… yet). Each player can move around the planet, positioning themselves strategically and fire upon the enemies until one of them dies. What is interesting, however, is that as the player ascends levels, they earn extra troops in their galactic army.

Seeing as this is a social game, the soldiers under your command are none other than your Facebook friends, and you even get a little picture of them in a nifty spacesuit. Best of all, they don’t have to play to be in your army. You get to draft them! This adds a nice personal touch to the game with or without them, but their participation does help significantly – if they play, they also level up and become more powerful assets for your interstellar domination plans.

In addition to direct combat assistance, each friend that plays the game also gives you greater access to precious gems. On your own, you’re limited to a 24 hour supply. The more friends you have that play, the more gems you get a day. So more friends means faster upgrades.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Playfish if they stopped at just this. Crazy Planets also incorporates personalized virtual spaces. Each player has their own little planet that they can customize as they see fit using the money they pick up on missions. Decorative items range from bones, to high tech cities, to Alien eggs, to even planetary halos. Regardless of choice, it allows for some excellent expression of one’s inner Sci-Fi geek.

What is also nice is this game has a bit of built in progression with it. Other than MiniGolf Party (and to a lesser extent Geo Challenge), most Playfish titles allow the player to choose their own path. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is nice to have something feel linear now and again. As players level up, they earn larger armies, bigger weapons, upgraded old weapons, and a fairly decent amount of missions (over 40 at the moment). Certainly a large game for a Facebook app, and knowing Playfish, it’s going to get bigger.

Playfish has certainly earned the reputation it has as a top social developer. Over the time that the company has produced games, its titles have evolved from simple word games (Word Challenge) to some rather innovative ones like Restaurant City. Though Crazy Planets is reminiscent of Worms, it is not Worms. It has merely used a base concept and applied it in a unique way – and it really works in Crazy Planets.