Gamezebo Rating:

I have to admit; I'm rather shocked and mystified by Valkyrie Crusade. It's a combination collectible card game and town builder, which in itself is an odd match; but both elements support each other a lot better than I'd have expected. So much so, in fact, that it might just be my current freemium favorite despite all the needless issues.

The sim elements of Valkyrie Crusade are fairly typical: collect three kinds of resources (gold, ether, and iron) and use them to build/upgrade structures that can gather and store more resources, as well as make incremental changes to the core mechanics. The card side of things is also rather familiar, with "friendship points" earned through befriending other players needed to summon (i.e. buy) more cards, card fusions, evolutions, etc.

However, there are a few key differences. Cards used in attack and defensive formations have applicable stats, as expected, but they also have health (represented by "soldiers" for some incredibly odd reason). Different cards have different maximums, and it costs two of all three resources for every one players refill. So when these bizarro health bars get into the thousands, it can be quite expensive to keep everyone topped-off. Totally worth it, though, as the more durable a unit is the longer it should take for them to get knocked out in battle.