Silversword (for iPad)

Hey, 1988 called. It wants to know if you're having fun. The iPad RPG Silversword is a perfect replica of a (nonexistent) hit game of the late 1980s, designed perfectly for the iPad. It's hours of fun for anyone who was a fan of Ultima, Bard's Tale, or Wizardry. In my mind, though, it's the excellent support and updates from Silversword's passionate creator that make this an Editors' Choice, and an example of what a mobile app should be.

Silversword is basically The Bard's Tale 4. This isn't a secret; the game's creator expresses plenty of love for that classic series of Apple II games on the Silversword blog. As with the Bard's Tale, you're looking at a fantasy world through a three-paned interface. On the upper left there's a simple, static 3D image. On the upper right, a box for dialog or user input. The entire bottom half of the screen is taken up by a list of your characters' stats. It isn't the most efficient interface given the capabilities of today's iPads, but it's familiar.

Gameplay is entirely turn-based, as you take your party of up to seven characters around a realm of castles, forests, and dungeons. Just like in classic D&D, many aspects are random and many choices are conducive to "min-maxing," finding the combination of race, class and stats that give you the most powerful characters. The game can often be devilishly hard, but you have plenty of save slots and can always backtrack to easier areas to run up your levels for a while.

Plot functions differently here than it does in some other computer RPGs. Your characters are blank slates; you'll have to imagine their personalities, and they don't have interpersonal dramas. Rather than the character-based plots of some other RPGs, here you're all business, completing quests and saving the world without worrying about matters of the heart.

There's a ton of gameplay here, although it can bog down in level grinding. I'm ten hours in and less than a third of the way through the game, stuck between some dungeons where I clearly need three or four more party levels to travel through them safely. That feeling should also be quite familiar to Bard's Tale veterans. I remember many after-school hours spent slaughtering monsters so I could get the HP needed to make it past particularly tough battles.

It's All About The People
What makes Silversword special, though, is Mario Gaida.

Most mobile RPGs are built by companies with weak support. Kemco leaves you completely on your own. Gamevil at least has a forum, but Gamevil employees don't appear on it often. Square Enix is more focused on its PC and console games.

Silversword's creator, a German guy named Mario Gaida, is deeply involved in his game. He posts blog updates. He tells you what features are coming soon. He solicits new suggestions from gamers, and implements them. Play Silversword, and you become part of a community that's creating Silversword as it goes, led by the biggest Silversword geek of all.

That adds a major extra dimension to the gameplay. It's not the traditional community of the MMO game, where players converse among themselves about the mysterious gods. It's a geek-fest of equals, where the creator is thrilled that you're enjoying his game and wants the gaming experience to be a truly two-way street. I don't see that often in the world of RPGs.

I'm giving Silversword an EC for the iPad, but not for the iPhone. Unfortunately, the UI here is frustrating on an iPhone. Touch targets are often too small. While the game is playable, it's no longer enjoyable on the iPhone's small screen. But for anyone with an iPad who enjoys classic RPG gaming, Silversword is a must-buy.

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