Video game card battlers can't be the hottest genre on earth, can it? Capcom seems to believe so, with its newest entry called Teppen.
Teppen launched this week on Google Play and the App Store, which is quite similar to Hearthstone - you pick up cards to place units on a battlefield. But what we've discovered is that the game is real-time in the sense that you don't exactly get a lot of time to wait for your turn to get some results.
This is the slight twist to Teppen despite the familiar formula. It has what you call an Active Response system, making it more thrilling than your regular turn-based gameplay.
After purchasing a card and placing it down, an arrow will shoot across the screen, giving you an idea when the attack will hit. Meanwhile, you can play active cards that impact the game immediately in some way, for example doing damage to another unit or buffing.
Playing an active card turns Teppen into a turn-based game of sorts - it stops the real-time action and gives your opponent the opportunity to respond with an action card of their own. This back and forth system will keep on going until both players have finished playing active card, and the real-time action continues.
Teppen is a fast-paced card battler, with the match timer actually set for only five minutes. But if you really want to know the best part of this game, it's the fact that includes characters from several of Capcom's popular titles. Expect to see some characters from Resident Evil, Darkstalkers, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter, and of course, Street Fighter.
You essentially start with eight main characters: Chun-Li, Ryu, Albert Wesker, Morrigan Aesnland, X (Mega Man), Dante, Nergigante, and Rathalos. Of course, each character some something up their sleeves, but you have to wait until you've accumulated enough action points to activate it.
Like other card battlers, Teppen is free, but there's going to be some in-app purchases. Season passes will provide "various extras," and there's plenty more beyond that.
Google Play lists goodies over $100, so you can easily spend a small fortune trying to gain an edge over rivals. More characters are coming over time, though, and this might do the trick if Hearthstone and other (mostly fantasy-based) games just don't scratch your itch.
Teppen is a co-production between Capcom and GungHo Online Entertainment. Expect more hero characters to be released over time.
