Warfare Incorporated
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game development |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Warfare Incorporated |
Warfare Incorporated is a real-time strategy title released in 2003 by the American developer Spiffcode and distributed by Handmark for platforms including Palm OS, Pocket PC, PDAs, Tapwave Zodiac, and iOS. In 2014, it became available as open-source freeware under the new name Hostile Takeover.
Plot
Set in a future where powerful corporations vie for control over cosmic resources, the narrative follows two rival companies, ACME and OMNI, locked in conflict over the planet Icarus. This world is abundant in galaxite, a scarce mineral vital for teleportation technology. Players take on the role of Andy Whitmore, a junior executive at ACME Exploration Corporation, assigned to extract galaxite from Icarus and search for the missing security expert Gordon Fox. Throughout the campaign, ACME discovers alien inventions such as a device capable of duplicating objects and faces emerging dangers threatening humanity’s survival.
Gameplay
Drawing inspiration from titles like Command & Conquer and StarCraft, Warfare Incorporated was among the pioneering PDA games to incorporate multiplayer functionality via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.
Online Gameplay
The game features both multiplayer and campaign modes accessible online, with multiple maps crafted by Spiffcode as well as additional user-generated maps available for download. Players have the option to register accounts to compete on leaderboards or participate anonymously.
Map Editor
Spiffcode offers a desktop mission editor named "M," which allows users to design and share custom maps. The most recent update to this tool was released in 2009.
Development
Developed by Spiffcode and published through Handmark in 2003, Warfare Incorporated initially launched on Palm OS, Pocket PC, various PDA devices, and the Tapwave Zodiac. The game was later adapted for iOS in 2008. In July 2014, its source code and assets were made publicly available under the BSD license as Hostile Takeover on GitHub, facilitating community-led ports to other platforms such as the Pandora handheld.
Reception
The title earned widespread praise along with several accolades including Handheld Computing’s "Best Product (2003)", PDArcade’s "Best Strategy Game (2003)", Palm Magazine’s "Game of the Year (2003)", and Palm Powered Up’s "Game of the Year (2004)."
In a 2004 review of the Tapwave Zodiac edition, Avery Score from GameSpot awarded it an 8.3 out of 10, commending its intuitive control scheme tailored for handheld RTS gameplay, robust multiplayer options, and strategic depth. He regarded it as one of the finest mobile real-time strategy games available at that time.
The 2008 iOS port also received favorable critiques, maintaining an aggregate rating of 85% on GameRankings. Joe Rybicki of MacLife gave it 4 out of 5 stars, acknowledging its somewhat dated audio-visual presentation but praising its compelling real-time strategy mechanics. Meanwhile, Pocket Gamer bestowed a 9 out of 10 score along with a "Gold Award," emphasizing its narrative strength, responsive controls, well-balanced difficulty curve, and overall strategic complexity as setting a high standard for RTS titles on iPhone.