Happy Wars

OXM recently caught up with Yoichi Take, president of Toylogic, at a review event. During their interview Take stated that his team plans to release downloadable content for the …
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In case you didn’t hear, XBLA’s first free-to-play game Happy Wars launched last Friday, and is absolutely worth checking out. If a free game is great, a free Halloween update can only make it better. The new Pumpkin map captures the spirit of the season, as the land is littered with scarecrows, gravestones, and jack-o-lanterns, all illuminated by a giant full moon. The new map can be played in single player training, multiplayer, and co-op modes. Study the battlefield in the screenshots below, then go off and fight in the update available now.

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Happy Wars was developed by Toylogic and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on October 12, 2012, free of charge. A copy was provided for review purposes.

There was a time when free-to-play games were regarded as the second-class citizens of the industry, relegated to social networking sites and mobile phones. While those days are over, free-to-play gaming never quite made it to Microsoft’s console until now, raising questions as to whether the model could even survive in a market that thrives on the bigger and better. Happy Wars’ delightful online action is the first to provide an answer to that question – and it’s a good one.

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ToyLogic and Microsoft Studios’ Happy Wars will be hitting XBLA next week. It will feature up to 30 player online multiplayer (with both versus and co-op), multiple game types, …
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Last Friday it was announced that Toylogic’s 15 v 15 multiplayer game Happy Wars will be free for all Xbox Live Gold members. In an interview with OXM, a …
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Toylogic’s upcoming cutesy 15 vs 15 multiplayer hack-n-slash, Happy Wars is set to be the first “Free-to-play” game on XBLA. The news was announced earlier this morning on Japanese …
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Every year, E3 seems more hectic than the last. We spent five hectic days getting our eyes and hands on every XBLA game possible and we’ve picked out eighteen games that stood out from the crowd. Here is the run-down on the very best XBLA titles from E3 2012. Read More

There are a myriad of reasons — some massive, others minuscule — for wars throughout history. Wars ranging from the disagreement you had with your mother to World War II to the intergalactic alien space combat we’re likely to experience in the near future. No wars have been particularly fun until video games came along, removing the consequences and the guilt of war. Yet still wars are brutal, sad, scary sort of affairs, no matter what your role is in them — and then there’s Happy Wars.

Happy Wars’ pseudo cell-shaded art style (mixed with a bit of watercolor, perhaps) hearkens back to the days of Cel Damage and Jet Set Radio. The zany visuals and overall lighthearted presentation prove war isn’t always depressing and vile. White is pit against black in this 15 vs. 15 multiplayer action game in an effort to capture towers and destroy the enemy team’s castle. Players can pick from a warrior, mage or cleric class and acquire new skills as they level up and attempt to out-maneuver the enemy team.

Our demo was cut into thirds, with a tutorial and gameplay rundown to start, an explanation of the deeper features of the game following that, and lastly a match played to completion on the game’s desert themed level. Read More

With E3 fading into the distance and a lull in releases, we dip into our backlogs.
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Happy Wars, the upcoming 15-vs-15 hack-n-slash from Japanese developer Toylogic, is showing just how fun war can be in these two new trailers. The above trailer gives the run-down of a typical online match. All 30 players begin the match by spawning in their team’s castle, and once the war begins you have to advance the enemy line by building towers. Towers act as a spawn point once built, but can be destroyed by the opposing team. Dying means having to select one of the three classes and choosing from the avialable spawn points. Battle the other team but be on the look-out for deadly gimmicks, some of which are player-controlled. Once your team reaches the enemy castle, fight your way inside and destroy the big tower in the center. At this point, your team wins! If you’re looking for something more team oriented, there is also a co-op mode where your team defends a castle from swarms of AI. Each map will feature themed swarms, from zombies to sentient tomatoes.

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