Modern Conflict HD iPad Review

Not too long after it launched, one of our favorite casual strategy games, a Galcon-inspired tank and helicopter game called Judgment Day War, disappeared from the App Store. The setting, based on the historical Six-Day War between Israel and its neighbors, was apparently too controversial for Apple. Now the game is back, but with a different setting, as Modern Conflict.

Modern Conflict HD for the iPad is essentially the exact same game as Judgment Day War, and that's definitely a good thing. You have at your disposal a combination of tanks and helicopters, which can be deployed in either half or full force from your captured bases. Bases will slowly regenerate over time, and there is a great deal of strategy in determining when and where to strike.

In addition, events like quick counterattacks and strategic retreats are rewarded with more troops. You'll even get a game-changing air strike or last stand bonus if you're down to your last base. These special attacks make the game much deeper than the average Galcon clone.

This iPad version contains some unique challenges, though. Bases are fairly tiny, and you have to be precise when you deploy your troops. If your finger misses the base, you might cancel the attack altogether. A little more leeway in recognizing your taps might have been helpful.

Also, one amusing oversight is the fact that the level select maps are the same from Judgment Day War. Since the original game was set in Israel and Vietnam (the Vietnam campaign being an extra downloadable level pack), those original maps are still in place. However, the text interludes between missions have been changed to uninteresting story snippits about a fictional war between America, Russia, and China over the fictional countries of Guyaran and Lugos.

While we feel the developer should have been allowed to keep Judgment Day War on the App Store in its original form, the generic setting of Modern Conflict has proven to be very popular. Apparently buyers aren't interested in a history lesson and just want to blow up tanks and helicopters. In any case, we're glad to see this excellent casual strategy game back, even if it has lost much of its real-world influence.