Parents' Guide to Summoners War: Chronicles

When this series began more than eight years ago, it was the start of a mobile game phenomenon. Now, with Summoners War: Chronicles, the series has evolved into a grand adventure that stacks right up with just about anything consoles have to offer. The production value is amazing, with fantastic anime style cutscenes, solid voice acting, and an engaging story that expands on the established universe. There's no shortage of content either, as the game offers up numerous ways to play catered to whatever you're looking for. Feel like going on a solo adventure? The main campaign and area dungeons are a great way to build your Summoners and to learn the lore. Want a little company as you fight the forces of evil? Grab some friends (or make some new ones) and team up for Party Play as you work together to take out massive bosses in epic raids. Think you're the best Summoner in all of Rahil? Prove it as you take on other Summoners in player versus player matches at the Trial of Ascension.

If there's one knock against Summoners War: Ascension, it's that the game is almost too big for its mobile platform. While the main controls are smooth, responsive, and intuitive, navigating the menus to manage your characters can be overwhelming. With so many monsters, skills, abilities, equipment, upgrades, etc., to keep track of, it's easy to overlook a lot. Also, one nagging issue for people playing on their phone is that the text is so small, it's almost impossible to read. This makes sorting through all of those menus even more frustrating as you try to make out exactly what certain skills do or which stats certain equipment have. Thankfully, there's more control when it comes to the in-game camera, allowing you to zoom in and out of the action on the fly so you don't miss any of the action. Finally, while the free-to-play game comes stacked to the hilt with microtransactions, you're actually able to earn quite a lot and to progress at a steady pace even without spending a dime.