| A new subgenre of real-time strategy has marched onto the scene, where well-placed automated turrets mow down waves of relentlessly attacking hordes. These "tower" titles gained further popularity with the free (and unrelated) webgame Desktop Tower Defense, and they even made their way to the PS3 with PixelJunk Monsters. Tower Defense may not offer much to look at, but the intuitive controls and huge challenge make up for it many times over. This is a strategy title done right on mobile.
The fantasy environments and enemy characters are rather simplistic -- every creature has about two frames of animation, and outside of the whizzing arrows and ice bolts from your automated defenses, everything looks quite plain. But it doesn’t really matter, because when the occasional dragon or kraken shambles into view, a focused Tower Defense player doesn’t see a monster, but a tiny pile of hit points to be crushed. You’ll be too absorbed with earning gold for upgrades and placing towers along the sides of winding pathways to notice the underwhelming visuals.
|
 |
| [Click the image above to check out all Tower Defense screens.] |
|
This is one tough game, and the fast pace and addicting challenge both keep you coming back for more. Instead of feeling frustrated, you’re immediately drawn back into finding the right solution to each puzzling siege. As waves of giant ants, centaurs, skeletons, and wolves fall to your magic towers and traps, crashing against your defenses like waves on rocks, it’s not hard to feel like a maniacal wizard defending his turf. Ignoring the visuals, Tower Defense is an engrossing experience that provides players with a significant challenge.
Played on a Samsung A707 |
Gameplay
