Ol' Skool Online Play this while the boss isn't looking

When I first started Casvian on my web browser, the first thought that ran through my mind was Heroes of Might and Magic. Even my colleague who took a peek at my PC said the same. His response was "Hey! Are you playing HoMM?" The feel is very similar being turn based with the same sort of gameplay and look. However, even if Casvian feels like a rip-off from HoMM, it is an interesting strategy game which can be played online.

For those who are not familiar with HoMM, Casvian is a turn based free-to-play online strategy game. Casvian is web-based so I was pretty thankful that for once I don't have to install and patch. All I needed to do was get myself registered and get into it.

There are four races to choose from; Elf, Human, Orc and Undead. Each race has different types of troops with different attributes. The most important aspect of is not so much of the race as the only difference is the troops; it is your heroes that make the difference as they would be the ones fighting for you. You can recruit heroes of other races other than your own.

The whole point of the game is to take over mines and anything that provide your city with resources. In order to build and research buildings and skills in your city, you would need resources such as lumber, sulphur, gold and such. However, picking up random items around on the map is not enough to flourish your city. You can find various hero equippable treasure lying around on the ground though they are usually guarded by insanely large amounts of monsters. It is kind of amusing how the pop-up comes up calling you suicidal when you try to attack a vast number of mobs with your meagre own.

Although Casvian is a web based game, it looks great. It has picturesque backgrounds and awesome graphics. And frankly, even with our not-so-perfect internet connection, I didn't have any problems with the game. Casvian can be played any time, anywhere. It was at the background when I was working and I never really needed to close it. I could monitor the training of my troops or the construction of buildings while I surf other sites.

Battles with your enemies can be supervised by you or you can just leave it at auto battle. Basically, Casvian can be played without much supervision; as in, while the various animations are being played, you can just check out your other browser tabs.

This is one of the best web based games I've played. Maybe because I'm a fan of classics like HoMM. I feel Casvian has a great potential to capture both young players as well as ol' skool fans. And with it being loadable on the browser, means you can play it anywhere you are. Now, if only it can be played on an iPhone.

Background story:

Chronicles of Antagarich - War of Recovery

Genesis 200 BC. Antagarich was still undeveloped. The ruler of Antagarich was the ancestor of Crewrod and their tribes were spread throughout the land. In Genesis 137 BC, a hero who declared himself as the “Messenger of the Great Ancestor”, Maganus established Blakada – a kingdom of wizards. Maganus allied himself with Crewrod in order to gain resources and in return he shared Blakada’s advanced technology with Crewrod. Antagarich's technology began to develop.

Blakada declare a war on Antagarich in Genesis 21 BC. After 21 years of war, Blakada almost conquered the whole of Antagarich. The Orcs fell and their lands became part of Blakada's colony. Blakada ruled for more than ten centuries and it was during this time that Antagarich led the world in production and culture. This caused various race to immigrate to Antagarich.

What does that have to do with the factor of War of Recovery?

During the rule of Blakada, integration and conflict between races have reached a level where it could not be tolerated anymore. As a result, Tannon revolted and defeated Blakada. Although Tannon defeated Blakada, the conflict that existed between all the races has never been solved. Alasia was established due to this factor. Alasia first king, Rean Grivonhart, was from a family of Blakada lords. After the declaration of Blakada, kingdoms were established and conflicts between races seem to decline but it was far from being solved. Alasia become the strongest kingdom in Antagarich by constricting and exploiting other races. War of Recovery was declared when these conflicts reached its maximum limit.