Hey!

Two months ago, I was clearing out my emails when I got one from VZ Games, at which point I didn't think much of it. It was only when I saw the same game on a cryptocurrency website that I decided to investigate. The game and coin in question are Hash Rush and Rush Coin (soon to be simply RUSH), respectively. The main intrigue of the game comes from the potential to earn RUSH, which will soon be listed on a few exchanges, from playing Hash Rush and placing well on the leaderboards. Personally, I've always been interested in the explosive gains potential of crypto, and have always had a weakness for video games and other immersive media, so I asked to sign up for the closed alpha they offered a couple months ago.

About the Developer

VZ Universe is separated into three entities, VZ Games, VZ Mining, and VZ Chains. VZ Games, as you can probably guess, creates the game and holds the development team. VZ Mining runs the VZ Mining Farm, which we will talk more about later. Lastly, VZ Chains handles the crypto side of the operation through blockchain development and the maintenance of the RUSH Network.

About the Game

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Hash Rush is an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game in which you can choose one of three classes: The Ernacks, The Highborn of Eldaria, and the Mauraders.

As the game is only in its alpha stage, the Ernacks are the only pickable class, and they are automatically selected for you as you start the game. You spawn near a large tree which serves as your home base with a few Ernacks on your own planet! Similar to some other games, you start by harvesting different materials (Wood, Stone, Berries, and Fireflies) to build basic structures and expand your colony.

After following the tutorial quests the game provides, you can begin to build Crypto Crystal mines, which can be placed on any crypto "vein". After the mine is complete, an Ernack can work the mine and begin to extract Crypto Crystal. Collecting Crypto Crystal and increasing the size of your colony are the main goals of the game in its closed alpha. You can also build army units to defend your new Crypto Empire against invaders as well as expand into new territories.

I recently played the game and was impressed by the gameplay for an alpha stage game. The graphics were pretty appealing and the adventurous nature of the game and the idea of exploring your own planet was intriguing. I found the Ernacks to be absolutely adorable and would instantly buy a plushie of one.

The controls were relatively intuitive and the combat system was simple but effective. There were only a couple of minor bugs I ran into, which they warned all testers about prior. Overall, the game felt a lot better than many for sale games in alpha stages, so I'm genuinely excited for when the beta releases on September 28th of this year.

About the Crypto

RUSH Coin is an Ethereum based coin which will be primarily used for in-game transactions but will also be able to be converted to Ethereum after the game launches. RUSH Coin had its ICO 1 stage ending in October 2017, in which they raised 1.8 million dollars. After using this money for game development and advertising, they are now seeking a second ICO to help with the Beta launch of the game (Link: https://hashrush.com/ico/). They will also be swapping their currently listed Rush Coin (RC) for RUSH (RUSH). This ICO will be done in two stages, a Pre-Sale and a Main-Sale. The Pre-Sale begins September 13th, 2018 and the ICO bonuses are shown below.

Just for clarifying a couple of the columns, RUSH Bonus is the extra percentage of RUSH you'll get for your purchase. For instance, if you buy 5 ETH worth of RUSH in the Pre-Sale, you would normally receive 5000 RUSH, but you would truly get 5500 RUSH thanks to the bonus. The starter pack includes some boosts, units, buffs, and speed ups to help you create your Crypto Metropolis. The Premium Membership will be a monthly paid subscription to VZ Games and here are the perks

Great! But How are they Linked?

Great question! RUSH will become the main currency used in Hash Rush and can be used to purchase units, boosts, buffs, skins, and even premium memberships. Yes! You can actually sell your premium membership card on the RUSH Marketplace for actual RUSH Coin! Moreover, the Crypto Crystals you earn while playing the game will place you on a leaderboard with other players. At the end of each month (or "Season") the leaderboard is evaluated and the proceeds from the VZ Mining farm will be allocated to these players. The higher your score, the larger your share in the VZ Mining Profits!.

What's Coming in the Beta?

The Closed Beta will add a lot of new features to the game. The most notable, in my opinion, is the activation of the RUSH Network and the opening of the Hash Rush marketplace. Moreover, with 10,000 players total, Hash Rush will get its first chance to make a large impression onto the masses and people will begin to realize the potential gains through Crypto Crystal mining.

Wait, How Does VZ Make Money?

Microtransactions- Though they are normally frowned upon in the gaming community, I feel these will actually assist in the growth of the game. Microtransactions will mostly be used to help speed up construction, buy units, and other optional purchases.

Monthly Subscription- While the game is free to play, a premium membership will be charged at a monthly cost (unless you're in possession of one of the lifetime subscriptions cards that will be given out in the ICO 2). This will be around $9 USD per month.

The "Galaxy Tax"- Sounds epic right? Similar to auction houses in Madden, NBA 2K, Fifa etc. there is a tax on proceeds generated from the sale of cards, as well as in this case in the purchasing of cards as well, around 2% for each.

Mining- The VZ Mining Farm will give some of the proceeds back to VZ Universe to help in the game development and other expenses.