Hobo Wars: Teaching You Why Hobos Are Cool
By: vincenthaoson
HoboWars is a browser based game created by HellBored Entertainment that puts you in as a smelly homeless dude (or dudette) trying to live a world of Hobo-ism (I just made that up). Hobo Wars gives you the chance to live your dreams of being a hobo without losing your house to the bank in real life.
The game mechanic is simple, you live in a dog eat dog world as a hobo. You need food to stay “awake”, you battle it out with other hobos to earn experience points and money which would translate to weapons, equipments and better food. You also have the choice of “studying” so that you can improve your stats and of course explore the “city” you live in to collect cans and dropped money.
With that said, there’s nothing much to look forward to in Hobo Wars. I suppose I can include the mini-games in the arcade as well but that sums it up.
I must stress however, that Hobo Wars is a game that’s more appealing because of its charm or novelty rather than its gameplay. Hobo War banks on its Hobo theme to such an extent that the draw is heavily reliant on that to appeal you for at least about 30 minutes. After that the game’s addicting nature kicks in and traps you in the gutters.
On paper it seems that the idea of “schooling” being addicting is quite preposterous, but when you start playing the game you just get sucked into it, clicking on the attribute you want to raise to a certain amount. If that does not appeal to you then “explore” your city in search of cans that you can sell or dropped money bills that can reach up to 120 dollars (the highest I got in one drop anyway). How you can be a hobo in a city that drops $100 bills on the ground like chump change is beyond me though.
If you area tough customer not easily entertained by “exploring” or getting “schooled” in browser games, Hobo Wars gives you the opportunity to “defeat” fellow hobos. I mean seriously, if the title isn’t a dead giveaway already I don’t know what is. Battles are stat-based combat with the outcome determined by the game. Though it is not the most immersive of battle systems out there, Hobo Wars’ battle system does provide me a good chuckle or two whenever I finish trouncing someone. I also liked the idea that you can just throw your hobo into a fight without knowing the strength of your enemy, because all you have as any indicator is rough level indicator of their strength.
All in all, Hobo Wars is not so much a serious browser game that will keep you coming back for more hourly. It is light, funny and quite easy to play and requires little time dedication compared to other games of its kind. The game’s addicting nature must not be underestimated though. I still find myself wanting to jump back into the land of hobos for some good ol’ schooling and dueling.
