There you are. The smell of day-old garbage mixes with the choking stink of car exhaust above a sizzling sea of asphalt. Before you, down a long, inconspicuous alley, is a rival gangster's turf. The brightly colored gang sign challenging all comers. You take a drag of the cigarette; you crack your knuckles. There are a dozen waiting for you on the other side.
Slowly, and with great weight, you draw your meat cleaver from behind your back. "Time to go," you say, and charge down the alley.
So you fancy yourself a gangster? Well, if you want to survive Triad Wars, the new sandbox F2P title from United Front Games (currently in closed beta), you're going to need a little lesson in the streets.
First and foremost, don't call it a sequel. The game is set within the same crime ridden version of Hong Kong that UFG's 2012 hit Sleeping Dogs occurred, but the similarities stop there. The story this time around is what you make of it. Despite the Grand Theft Auto-esque gameplay and violence, Triad Wars has more in common with mobile titles like Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. You build up your base of operations, make money, conduct raids on other players whilst simultaneously defending your own.
Second: build up your gang. In Triad Wars, every time you level up you can put points towards your avatar and your gang. Because you spend the majority of your time running around punching people as your yakuza gangster, it's easy to just dump all your points into 'bigger, stronger, faster' stats. But consider this: you will not be playing this game more than you are playing this. Raids don't happen on your schedule, so don't forget to toss some points towards your men. They suffer enough when you're not around.
The parry/block key is your friend The big difference between TW and CoC is that you can control the pace of battle in the game. When involved in a raid, you have complete control over your character. The controls can be a bit twitchy, however, and rely more on timing than anything. I don't know how many raids I limped through because I just didn't block enough and was whittled down to nothing by the end of it.
Plus, the parry animations are some of my favorite...outside of the GOAT 'jumping while hitting a dude with a machete'. Speaking of...
Bring a knife to a gunfight. Especially in the early levels, always, always, always carry a blade with you. The gun controls are not perfect, and the aiming is all over the place. A knife, though, hits almost every time. The meat cleaver is a personal favorite and can make short work of even the hardiest (and well trained) rival gang member.
This next is small, but important: drive on the left side of the road. I have failed in a time trial because I keep drifting over to the right side of the road, directly into oncoming traffic. That's not how it works in Hong Kong. I'm not saying you should obey the speed limit or traffic laws, but always keep that in mind when navigating, it can save you some time because...
The first car you get is crap. If you use it, be sure to give yourself plenty of time while running down Intel (the mini-missions prior to raiding). Steal another car if there's a sportier one available outside of your warehouse.
Check back on the regular. Like all yakuza members and F2P games, Triad Wars demands loyalty. As you start to level and build more Rackets, you'll gain access to a Racket Boss who can hook you up with a daily favor. Check in each and every day to see what the old man has for you, be it new clothes, weapons, guns or just simple production boosts. You also want to clear out your warehouse as quickly as you can, or else opposing players can steal the stuff your lackeys spent so much time making.
Sure, all of its illegal, but it's your illegal stuff, dammit.
Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to get through a raid. The game allows you to boost the total raid time via Intel missions, in which you shake down guys, beat up gang members or deliver a package in order to gain a few more minutes in a raid before the cops come knocking. It seems like you don't need to do this early on, but trust me, as you everyone starts getting stronger and more rackets get added, you're going to want that extra cushion. A raid can quickly turn from heading in all guns blazing to a calculated game of cat and mouse.
But, if the cops do ever get you down, don't worry. You wake up in the hospital or jail and you're as fine as anything, having only lost a little bit of Face, the game's rep system.
Getting to the top is never easy, but Triad Wars tries to pave the way for you as best it can. This isn't a deep or dramatic game like Grand Theft Auto; you do the same thing over and over, but when you're cleaving dude's heads in twain in slow motion, you hardly notice. Triad Wars is a constantly evolving empire builder and it just wants you take your piece.
Just be ready to defend it. As Shakespeare said, uneasy is the head that wears the crown.