Biotix: Phage Genesis

[VictorViper]

I just discovered this little gem in the Windows Phone "new & rising" section of the app store. It's a minimalistic RTS where you are a malignant cell trying to infect neighboring cells and proliferate. There are, of course, competing cells with the same motive (CPU and online multiplayer available), so the trick is to expand as quickly as possible while carefully managing your ever changing "stock" in the gene pool.

It has a few statistics to manage and upgrade, such as your virus' aggressiveness, resistance to other invading genes, regeneration rates, etc. (all done between stages), and there are different cell types to infect that offer further bonuses, so there is some variety on offer. And while the game starts off rather easy, it ramps up quickly as you're faced with two, three, maybe even more competing viruses.

Anyway, it seems this has been out for iOS and Android for some time now; has anyone else played this? It's free to play, with in-app purchases available, but so far they don't seem remotely necessary (wanting to be competitive online is probably a different story). It's a pretty nifty little design, and a ton of fun to play, and this is coming from someone who generally despises real-time strategy games. The simple gameplay mechanics with excellent controls (multi-touch supported!) really make this a pleasure to play on touch screens.

This is a good one, make sure to check it out!

Here's a quick vidwith a basic example of the flow of gameplay

[MerlinDrazziw]

Just tried this game on iOS. Got ads between each level, but at least they don't hinder gameplay. First 5 levels I beat with some ease. 5th was the first with a 2nd cpu, both cpus were stronger in the 6th level. Will have to check what upgrades are available that aren't iap. If I can't continue without iaps, I'll remove it. But so far, it was nice and different. Wouldn't call it a gem, but maybe it is for the device you're playing it on

[VictorViper]

Huh. No ads whatsoever in the WP version, and the IAPs are nothing more than fast-track options (buy your coins/exp instead of earning it). I'm still pretty early on, so I guess time will tell if these become necessary further along, but so far the game's been pretty generous with giving out coins on victory.

[MerlinDrazziw]

Have played the game some more. Facebook connection isn't great, posting doesn't seem to work. No extra coins for fb, but start over at lvl. 1 will get you coins. Only have to beat lvl. 30, need to be maxed out for that (I think).

[MerlinDrazziw]

Just beat lvl. 30, no need to be maxed out. You have to be quick and alert though, AI is very fast.