You gotta play smart (and fast). Test your brain skills while taking control of the city in this cool running/puzzle game.

Okay, let me say this as bluntly as possible: The graphics in this game are horrible. If there is one word to describe them is lazy!  It’s like these guys took the most basic Unity engine models and stuck with them, without any concern for texturing or handcrafting animations. Is this really the future of gaming? If it is, let me tell you, I don’t want any part of it!

I’m already anticipating the replies: “Graphics aren’t important” or “gameplay kills graphics”. Listen, I’m all in for the “gameplay-over-graphics” rhetoric. I love going back to my old games despite their dated visuals. However, in those specific cases, I can appreciate the effort those developers made in spite of all the technical limitations of those times. Heck, I don’t even mind modern indie games with 2D sprites or basic models. What I can’t stand is basic “unfinished” models or basic “generic” models, which is what this game ultimately offers.

Now, I’m not gonna lie, the gameplay is nice. What’s more, the gameplay is addicting and fodder for the mind. During your runs, you’ll have to lead your units (originally blue-colored) to battle against their rivals (red-colored), all the while choosing the correct operations shown on the screen to increase the size of your troop. You’ll have to avoid negative numbers and pick the highest multipliers or addends, striving to maintain a high count so that you may ultimately reach the boss.

Your troops would also have to survive all the obstacles found on the road, from barriers to guillotines to holes on the floor. If the unit count gets too high, you’d undoubtedly have to sacrifice some of them as you attempt to reach the goal line, but the idea is to sacrifice the least number. 

Praise goes toward the developers for the creative way in which they laid out the scenarios. Sure, they’re mostly bare, but you find some interesting props and obstacles that enhance the gaming experience somewhat, making up for the subpar graphics. They also have some cool moments, such as when you’re suddenly prompted to destroy a castle by firing a cannon using your units as ammo. For the record, this game appears to be inspired by some of the worst war criminals in history.

Moreover, you can also build your own island base and recruit units to participate in some tower defense minigames with the possibility of earning some cool rewards. I have to admit that the graphics get a bit more “polished” at this point in the game, though that’s only true for this specific part.

You can also spend money on upgrading your troops and getting more starting units, though I don’t think you’d have to ever have to reach for your pocket if you don’t want to, which is to be thanked.

Now, we’ll get to the ugliest part of the review, which touches upon the game’s monetization. Frankly, if you asked me, I would not pay a penny for this game (though I profoundly respect those who are willing to). In principle, you don’t have to pay to play this but, as chastisement, you’d have to suffer through some ads.

How many ads, you ask? Well, all of them! They appear after every single darn stage and, what’s worse, they’re way too long! 

Now, in all fairness, this game offers an ad-free version (paid). To access it, you’d have to sacrifice $2.99. Alas, for a title like this, I find that it’s a bit too expensive. Yes, the gameplay is cool and all, but I doubt you’ll spend more than a day or two playing it before tossing it in the digital garbage bin (at least in my very honest opinion).

Verdict

Count Masters – Crowd Runner 3D is a good game hidden behind horrid graphics and a mountain of ads. If you have the patience of a saint, I think you may enjoy this one for what it’s worth. Alas, I’m not sure it will survive in my device’s storage for more than a week.

How about you? Did you have fun playing this game? Run over to the comments section and let us know!