Recently my buddies Bryan and Jeff convinced me to play a game with them on my Samsung Note II. I rarely play games on my phone. I don’t have much time for games. I refuse to play Candy Crush, even though my wife and daughter are addicted. But I gave Ingress a chance. Now, I am really into this game.
My buddies took me around and helped me learn the ropes, since we are all Resistance. We spend a lunch hour driving from one portal site to another. We had a blast.
There are two sides to Ingress. You pick either the Enlightened, which is the Green team, or the Resistance, which is the Blue team. Some people refer to them as Smurfs or Frogs. I prefer to call the groups Kree or Skrull in reference to Marvel Comics alien races.
According to the back story, the Enlightened have made an alliance the the Shaper force, which is creating these portals. The Resistance is fighting against the Shapers and the Enlightened to save the human race from the Shaper Invasion.
Ingress is a fantastically KOOL game for Android phones. It is ran by Google and only available on Android phones. You can play it when you are by yourself or you can play it with a group. It is played across the internet.
I just leveled up to level 3 on Saturday. I was able to capture 4 new portals while I am out. I spent two hours and walked over my town today. This game enabled me to walk 5 miles and get my steps in for the day.
Below is the information from the Wikipedia page.
Ingress is a near-realtime augmented reality massively multiplayer online video game created by Niantic Labs for Android devices. The game has a complex backstory which Google is revealing in segments.
This
The primary goal of the game is defend the takeover of the human race by an unknown “Shaper” force or, depending on your perspective, to assist in an “Enlightenment” of mankind through an alliance with the Shapers. This is accomplished by aligning with either the Resistance (represented by the blue color) or the Enlightened (represented by the green color) faction and by creating “Control Fields” over geographic areas. Progress in the game is measured by the number of Mind Units controlled by each Faction (visible on the Intel Map).XM Control Fields are established by claiming Portals and then linking Portals together to form Fields. More powerful Portals can link over longer distances (up to hundreds of kilometers). The link range of a Portal is determined by the power of the attached Resonators. Portal Keys are needed to form links.
When three Portals are linked to form a triangle, a Control Field is established over the region. It will be rendered on the Scanner as a hazy blue or green field over the area. The number of Mind Units claimed is related to the population density of the area covered. Cities yield more Mind Units than rural areas.
The on-going goal of the game is for one’s faction to control the largest number of “Mind Units”. The game has attracted an enthusiastic following in cities worldwide] amongst both young and old. (Wiki)
What I Like About the Game:
This game is a ton of fun. It is unique and challenging. You can play it when you have a few minutes driving around or when you have 2 hours to kill. It introduces you to unique and historical sites around your area. It is fun to grab a group (either Resistance or Enlightened) and conqueror a few enemy portals.
What I Don’t Like About the Game:
This game is only by invite and only for Android phone users. I would love to invite a few iPhone and Windows 8 phone friends but I can’t. If only they would convert to KOOL phone (just kidding … but not really).
Review:
This is a fantastic game. It is a ton of fun to play.
Rating: A-
Check out the video below.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
