The Harvest : A fantastic WP7 sci-fi game with brilliant graphics

The-Harvest

I’ve finally got round to reviewing The Harvest & I feel it’s really been worth the wait for me. The harvest caused a stir when it’s beautiful looking graphics were shown off as an example of what Xbox Live games for Windows Phone could be & I have to admit, it doesn’t disappoint. The game takes you, a member of the army in a special robotic suit, down to planet earth to get rid of the alien hoard known as the ‘Harvesters’. Along the way you can pick up various chips & attachments as well as level up when you gain enough experience. Both the chips you pick up & levelling up with let you enhance the variety of aspects of the game, including:

• The strength health packs have (the higher, the more health they give when used)
• How fast your health regenerates
• How fast your energy regenerates (which is used when you activate your special abilities)
• Your agility & accuracy
• Your strength & damage
• Your endurance & armour

Chips can be assimilated, which will give you a more prominent boost to a single attribute or be attached for a prolonged, but weaker, boost to multiple attributes. This can all get a bit confusing, what with upgrading this, that & the other, but I got the hang of it eventually.

You start off with one class (character) to play through the game with, but as you go through you unlock the second & then the third. Each of which has three special abilities which you unlock early on during the first level. As you progress, you face many enemies who you have to kill off & even work alongside others in the fight against the Harvesters. The further you get, the more types of enemies appear, ranging from a small, simple, bug-like creature to bipods that carry shields & large guns.

The game does involve a lot of walking around, with the occasional enemy appearing, but to be honest, even the walking alone isn’t that bad because of the levels themselves, the environments you are making your way through are fantastic. They are very extensive & offer a huge variety in what you will see. By this I mean they haven’t simply repeated the same bit of map over & over again, you do feel like you’re exploring an expansive landscape. There are 3 different levels for you to battle your way through; the first being a rocky desert with little wooden buildings dotted around the place, the second is a dark, mysterious town & the third is the inside of a military base, which houses a secret, but I won’t spoil that for you.

Now that they have fixed the bug which stopped you from loading or continuing a game, I would definitely say this game is worth getting. The gameplay is great with a huge upgrade system & plenty of objectives to work away at. Plus, I could go on for ages about the graphics in this game; they really are fantastic for a game on a mobile platform. I think the only thing I would change is enabling multi-touch so you can do things like move & selet enemies or change between power-ups at the same time. Other than that, this game is amazing.

Another note:

A while back, there was a preview of The Harvest being played on Windows 8 on a tablet pc. Just imagine this game on a 10″ screen…  *drool*

The Harvest Gameplay Video

The Harvest’s Xbox Live Achievements:

Anti-Venom (10 points): You have destroyed the first Boss – Amelatu.
Arachnocide (10 points): You have destroyed the second Boss – Enki.
Asp Wind (5 points): Your stealth skills are unsurpassed.
Completionist (15 points): If you want something done right, get the GDF to do it.
Destructive Force (15 points): You are a destructive force of nature.
Falcon EMP (5 points): You left them speechless, and dead.
Great Explorer (15 points): The Harvesters can run, but they cannot hide from you.
Juggernaut (15 points): You are untouchable.
Juiced Up (5 points): It’s all or nothing for you!
Kitted Out (10 points): You have got style!
Level UP (10 points): You are our GDF’s most decorated hero.
Loyalty (15 points): You have earned our army’s complete trust.
Multitool (5 points): You know how to use your special abilities under pressure!
Scarab Express (5 points): They better get out of the way of “The Scarab Express”!
Shutdown (10 points): You destroyed the final Boss – Marduk.
Specialist (10 points): You know your talents.
Speed Run (15 points): You are like greased lightning.
Survivor (5 points): No prison can hold you.
Trashman (10 points): You have destroyed the third Boss – Kingu.
War Journal (10 points): This one is for all our fallen soldiers.

The Harvest Screenshots

Version under review: 1.2.0.0

Developer: Luma Arcade

The Harvest costs $6.99 & has a free demo.

Scan this QRcode with Bing vision ( Hit the hardware Search button and click on the small icon that looks like an eye ) on your Phone to download the App to your phone.

Price : $6.99