The folks behind Brink pull back on the action but throttle up the style with Rad Soldiers, a turn-based multiplayer strategy game for the iPad and iPhone they're heralding as "guns with friends". That's an idea I can get behind.
Mysterious McGuffin Rockets have landed in London, causing a city-wide evacuation, followed immediately by an influx of mercenary teams vying for control of these strange weapons. The player is one of the shadowy figures pulling the strings of one of these mercenary groups. They'll assemble a squad of 'collectible' mercs, customize their weapons, abilities and clothing, and set them loose in "hilarious" turn-based battles online against friends or offline against bits of code. The game will hook up with Game Center and Facebook, keeping players networked with their friends and enemies at all times.
Due out in June of 2012, Rad Soldiers will be a free title, subsidized by players purchasing customization options and gear through the in-game store. It's to be published by brand-spanking-new British publisher WarChest, focused on high-quality free multiplatform games.
So while Splash Damage continues to work on multiplayer titles for the PC and console, fans can keep themselves occupied with this odd evolution of the classic play-by-mail strategy game. "Guns with Friends," huh? I can dig it.
Be sure to hit up WarChest's website to register your player name before the game launches. It's too late to snag 'Fahey' out from under me, but I'm sure there's a lovely selection remaining.