Risk: Factions
Risk: Factions is a downloadable video game for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service (discontinued as of 2014), 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, December 21, 2010 for PlayStation 3, and March 8, 2011 for Windows. It is based on Hasbro's popular board game, "Risk". The game has both single player and online modes of play. 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. The features added to "RISK: Factions" that do not appear in the 2008 rule set are overkills and terrain features. Overkills are awarded by rolling 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 the player who has captured it to convert an opponent-controlled territory of his choice and all units within it to his color. 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: 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." 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." Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace discontinuation. As of 2014, RISK: Factions is no longer available for purchase on Xbox Live's Arcade Marketplace. 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).