Risk: Factions

Risk: Factions is a downloadable video game for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service (discontinued as of 2014),[2] PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network, and Windows computers through Steam (no longer available for purchase). The game was announced on January 12, 2010 for Xbox 360,[3] December 21, 2010 for PlayStation 3,[4] and March 8, 2011 for Windows.[5] It is based on Hasbro's popular board game, Risk. The game has both single player and online modes of play.[6] The single player campaign is divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter unlocks one of the game's five factions. The gameplay in the single player campaign is similar to that of the 2008 Risk rule set. Players must complete three objectives and have control of their capital to win the game. Alternatively, a player may defeat all the opponents to win the game as well.

Risk: Factions
Developer(s)Stainless Games
Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc.[1]
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Designer(s)Simone McDermott
Programmer(s)Ben Lyons
Nick Slaven
Artist(s)Will McCourt
Writer(s)Robert Levine
Composer(s)Jamey Scott
Platform(s)Xbox 360 (XBLA), PlayStation 3 (PSN), Windows (Steam), Facebook Platform
Release23 June 2010
21 December 2010 (PSN)
09 March 2011 (Steam)
Genre(s)Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

The features added to RISK: Factions that do not appear in the 2008 rule set are overkills and terrain features. Overkills are awarded when players roll either two or three sixes. If a player rolls two sixes, he destroys twice as many units as he would normally. If a player rolls three sixes, he destroys all the opponent's units in the current battle.

Some maps also have special terrain features like the volcano, which can erupt and kill most surrounding soldiers, or the temple, which allows a player who has captured it to convert another country of his choice and all units within it to his color.

Factions
  • Humans - Color: Green - Leader: General William P. "Fatty" McGutterpants - A jingoistic American general. He is always seen with his pet dog.
  • Cats - Color: Yellow - Leader: Generalissimo Meow - A Hispanic-sounding cat dressed like Mao Zedong. He launches an attack on the Humans after a mortar is "accidentally" dropped on his country (courtesy of McGutterpants' dog) and McGutterpants refused to apologize.
  • Robots - Color: Red - Leader: Commandant SixFour - An untested automated defense system built by the Humans. Unfortunately, due to his obsolete graphics technology, he is incapable of distinguishing friend from foe and declares war on the rest of the factions. His name is a reference to the Commodore 64.
  • Zombies - Color: Black - Leader: Colonel Claus Von Stiffenberg (a.k.a. "Stiffy") - A hook and eyepatch-wearing zombie who declares war on the other factions after being attacked by the Humans. Like the rest of the faction, he was presumably either an ordinary human or a revived corpse, mutated by an experimental bioweapon launched by Commandant SixFour. His name is a reference to Claus von Stauffenberg.
  • Yetis - Color: Blue - Leader: His Excellency Gary - A Buddha-like yeti monk with a jovial attitude like the Dalai Lama. Ironically, he declares war when General McGutterpants asks for his help to bring peace with the other factions.

Dice probabilities

In the factions game type, it is possible for a player to gain the ability to use up to a fourth die when attacking and/or a third die when defending. This, along with the overkill and super-overkill features, makes the probabilities of winning battles different from the original Risk board game rules. Below is a table summarizing the dice probabilities for the factions game type:[note 1]

Attacking dice 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
Defending dice 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
Attacker loses all 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%
Attacker loses 4 7% 2.8% 7% 2.8% 7% 2.8%
Attacker loses 2 30.6% 18.2% 40.2% 31.2% 54.4% 42.1%
Attacker loses 1 29.3% 34% 41.7% 82.7% 74.5% 58.3%
Both lose 1 31.2% 33.1% 29.2% 24.3% 25.5% 32.4%
Defender loses 1 70.7% 66% 58.3% 17.3% 25.5% 41.7%
Defender loses 2 23.1% 36.7% 18.8% 35.5% 11% 20.8%
Defender loses 4 6.7% 8.0% 4.0% 5.8% 1.6% 1.9%
Defender loses all 0.9% 1.2% 0.3% 0.4%
Attacker wins 30.7% 45.9% 70.7% 23.1% 41.7% 66% 12.6% 22.7% 58.3% 17.3% 25.5% 41.7%
Defender wins 38.1% 21% 29.3% 47.7% 34% 34% 61.9% 44.9% 41.7% 82.7% 74.5% 58.3%
Tie 31.2% 33.2% 0% 29.2% 24.3% 0% 25.5% 32.4% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Reception

Risk: Factions received generally favourable reviews upon release, with a Metacritic average of 77%.

Destructoid praised the developer for not just making a copy of the traditional board game with the console version. The reviewer said: "Clearly a lot of time was put into making sure Factions not only overflowed with personality, but was also able to capture the interest of new players. I can't recommend this game enough, especially at such an affordable price."[7]

1UP.com said that "while the factions aspect could have been fleshed out a bit more, the title still stands as a solid update to the game and a worthwhile purchase for strategy fans."[8]

Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace discontinuation

As of 2014, RISK: Factions is no longer available for purchase on Xbox Live's Arcade Marketplace. Users, even if they already owned the game, had it remotely removed from their hard drives, rendering it impossible to play RISK: Factions on Xbox 360.

Steam delisting

As of some time around October 2020, the Steam version of the game stopped being available for purchase for an unknown reason (presumably because Electronic Arts no longer owns the Hasbro license for Risk).

Notes
  1. The probability table makes the following assumptions about the rules of Risk:Factions, which are not explicitly defined:
    • If both attacker and defender roll an overkill or super-overkill, the defender's overkill overrides and is the only one that counts.
    • When a defender is using 3 dice, they are capable of rolling a super-overkill.
    • If the attacker rolls an overkill while the defender rolls one or more sixes, the attacker's overkill is cancelled out.

References
  1. EA Sets Stage for World Domination With RISK: Factions
  2. http://www.trueachievements.com/n17433/a-trio-of-delistings-hit-the-marketplace.htm
  3. Announcement Release
  4. "Risk: Factions Brings Global War to PSN". IGN. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  5. "Now Available - RISK Factions". Valve. 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  6. Miller, Matt (February 2010). "Xbox Live Arcade gets three new exclusives, and MotionPlus comes to WiiWare". Game Informer (203): 30.
  7. http://www.destructoid.com/review-risk-factions-177870.phtml Destructoid
  8. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3180110&p=4 1UP.com
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