E3 2015 demo: command thousands of units into battle in the impressive Dawn of Titans

Zynga used to be considered “the next big thing” in gaming, but the company missed the mobile wave and its fortunes took a downturn when people grew bored of Farmville and the countless clones it spawned.

But Zynga is not out yet, and under the command of returning CEO Mark Pincus, the company is shifting from its casual gaming roots towards more serious stuff. To help with this, Zynga bought game studio Natural Motion (of CSR Racing fame) for north of $500 million in 2014, and yesterday at E3, we got to see the studio’s next game, Dawn of Titans.

Dawn of Titans is an action strategy game that resembles the PC series Total War, in that it gives players control over armies counting thousands of units. The game, coming to Android and iOS, impresses through its massive battles rendered in real time. According to Natural Motion CEO Torsten Reil, that’s possible thanks to the Echo engine, which can deliver “console-grade” 3D graphics within the constraints of a mobile platform.

Now “console-grade” is a bold and subjective claim, but the truth is we were very impressed with the demo we were shown (running on a iPad, but the experience should be similar on Android tablet). The animations were fluid, the effects were impressive, and the simple interface made it easy to unleash the wrath of a titan, hydra, or some other mythological beast upon enemy soldiers.

Dawn of Titans is not just about massive battles. The game has a strong social component, as it allows players to team up in alliances and tackle AI opponents or other players. You can even create and customize your own beautifully-rendered kingdoms, making Clash of Clans and other similar games look downward primitive in comparison.

This has been just a preview of Dawn of Titans, which is expected to land on Android and iOS later this year. Stay tuned with Android Authority for more mobile gaming coverage from E3 2015!