Tower Defense 1.1 – an intense game of strategic war in the palm of your hand
Tower Defense is a new action-strategy war game that puts you in command of an army while trying to defend a military base. Real time strategy games can often be time consuming. If the developers don’t execute the delivery properly, it just turns into a waste of time. On the other hand, if the delivery appeals to gamers correctly, it can be fun, addictive, and time will fly by. This type of game is usually played on a computer or on a home console, so we decided to take a look at Tower Defense to see how it compares to its big brothers. See if it’s a worthy portable game of one of the most popular genres of gaming in our full review.
Tower Defense
It’s important to note that I am in no way an experienced strategy gamer. I typically stay away from this type of gaming, so this review will be from the point of view of someone who usually doesn’t enjoy said games. With that in mind, you will want to continue reading this review because you may be somewhat surprised with my experience.
Tower Defense puts you in the middle of a defensive battle. The whole idea of the game is to setup defensive towers around your base to prevent the enemy from breaching. You start with a set amount of hit points and every time an enemy reaches your base, you lose a point. When the HP total is brought to zero, the game is over. So this is where the strategy comes in. You want to post towers in a way to slow down the enemy enough to kill them. The concept is simple, but I think that’s what makes it work.
The enemies come in from one entrance, so if you obstruct their path, they will have to go around you. It’s kind of fun creating a maze for the enemies to navigate. Watching them get shot up is even more fulfilling. It’s a test of wits to see if you can implement the right strategy to prevent an attack. Enemies range from Hummers to B2 bombers to spy drones. There are 17 in total and each enemy has a different level of armor strength. On-ground enemies have to go around your towers, but in-air opponents can fly straight towards your base. Some are easy to take out while others can penetrate deeply into your defenses.
On the friendly front, you get to select form 6 different towers with 3 upgrade levels. These towers are basically weapons that shoot heavy machine gun fire, freezing projectiles, missiles, flames, electric pulses and radar. As you kill enemies you gain money, which gives you the capability to buy differently priced towers. Clicking on already placed towers will give you two options: remove for cash reimbursement or upgrade. Upgrading a tower will basically add another layer of weaponry to it. So instead of a tower that shoots one missile, it will have two missile launchers. A great defensive strategy includes tower placement and also knowing when to save and buy different towers. Do it correctly and you will prolong the battle. Do it incorrectly and it will seem like the enemies are more like a celebratory parade gunning for your base. The last thing you want is to watch drone after drone marching into your base, as if you’re welcoming them.
Tower Defense Weapons
There aren’t many options to choose from, but the in game interface works well. You have a bottom row which houses all the towers that you can purchase. Everything is made for touch in mind. Just drag the one you want, as long as you have the money for it, onto anywhere on the field grid. There’s a zoom bar on the side for easy in-and-out zooming, which gives you the ability to get close to the action or see an overview of the entire battle. Action can be paused or fast forwarded, which bodes well for novice or advanced gamers.
One of the disappointments of the game is that there are only 2 battlefields. I would’ve liked to see at least another. Granted, I spent hours and hours on one of the battlegrounds on easy mode. It was highly entertaining and I didn’t even feel the need to jump to hard mode yet because it was an engaging experience. This could be a great sign for reusability, but the lack of different map models is still disappointing and definitely hurts that category. Trying different defensive stances is one way the gamer can alter the playing field though. You get to choose from easy, hard and unlimited modes by the way.
Tower Defense gameplay was a surprisingly good experience. Because I tend to avoid these titles for the PC and home consoles, I was expecting a bad experience. It turns out that I was wrong, In fact, I found myself spending hours on the game and I just couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t until I drained my battery that I stopped playing. There’s something extremely satisfying about all the hectic explosions and active weaponry. The simplicity and easily maneuverable interface makes the game work on Windows Mobile. Don’t mistake simplicity with boring though. I found that it was a great challenge even on easier difficulty levels. When you’re playing a game on a phone, it usually means you have some extra time. This game will eat up that time and you won’t even notice. I can’t say that I’ve had too many experiences like that in the Windows Mobile gaming world. Honestly, this game makes me want to check out similar titles too, but that will come after I’m done with this one. If you have some spare change to spend on software, this could be a good investment for anyone that likes strategy games.
Minimum Requirements: Windows Mobile 6.x With VGA or WVGA screens and OpenGL ES (most devices released after 2007)
Display Dimensions: 480×640, 480×800
Operating System: WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5
Tested Using: HTC Touch Pro
Pros:
- Engaging gameplay that’s hard to put down
- Good graphics
- Different levels of play that can be quite challenging
- Nice selection of weapons to choose from and enemies to fight against
- Great portable experience of the action-strategy genre
- All touch, so D-pad isn’t needed
- Works on most newer devices and VGA/WVGA resolutions
Cons:
- Price
- No DEMO version !! for a $25 game is unacceptable
- Doesn’t seem to create a shortcut, so you have to open using file explorer or create own shortcut
- Only two maps could make the game feel repetitive after a while
- QVGA devices aren’t supported
Possible Improvements:
- More maps with larger battlefields and multiple enemy entrances
- More weapons are always appreciated
- Shortcut in games or programs folder is a must
- Soundtrack could use more music variation
- Would be nice to save multiple games, so we can return to different battles.
Get it from OurStore :
Check 1800PocketPC.com for the chance to Win a Free copy of this app, closes 7th Nov
Screenshots :
38 Responses to “Tower Defense 1.1 – an intense game of strategic war in the palm of your hand”
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No Trial for a $25 app. You are kidding right ? Who would buy this… Seriously!!! The screenshots looks kind of grainy. Is it the same in game ?
If there is a demo I would have tried it and if I liked it I would have bought it as well, coz I love tower defense games
video looks nice…
I deserve a free copy of Tower Defense because I don't have a decent game on my device.
And of course because I always follow the news on 1800pocketpc.com
I have always loved tower defense game for PC. this looks really good.
this game looks awesome.
if I am given a free copy of this, i will show this to my friends so that they may be interested to buy this
i love this tower defence more than my life and i like to own one
nice, I think after read this,I will make my decision to buy it for sure!
I think graphics are very nice,I bought one.
On my WVGA screen I saw every units very clear,animation is nice too.
I deserve a copy of this game basically because:
- I am addicted to strategy games
- It's very dificult to affort buying games in my country, Argentina, due to the actual economical crisis we are passing throw. Imagine that every app in USS I have to pay it 3.8 times more..
See u
Thanks
This game brings indeed a little fresh air over WM gaming, Open GL ES seems a strong platforms, good / smooth graphics. I recently got a HTC Touch HD; now HD2 brings even more power for WM platform. Sincerely, in the first month I was VERY SAD with WM 6.1 because:
- Windows Calendar and WM touch usability in general is really poor and not comparable with my old P900 / P910 UIQ calendar (I have heavily used UIQ 2.0 for 5 years, I do not even know why I stopped, I guess I wanted a more powerfull PMP style device);
- WM 6.1 does look too similar with my old HP iPAQ 6340, with WM 2003!!!! Also I think Microsoft screwed here, because for example guys like INESOFT builed a CALENDAR in a few months, that is far better than the default one (that took years to build … and remained “nowhere”).
But, with software packages like this game or other tools (like INESOFT CALENDAR, CORE PLAYER, OUTLOOK MOBILE ACCESS, RSS READER, INTERNET RADIO and others), this platform makes sense.
Thank you!
i deserve a copy because i just bought a Touch Pro 2 and i want to use Tower Defence as an iPhone Killer App!!
Hi There,
I am mega addicted to Desktop Tower defense type of games, I would like a free copy to review this on my blog and give my own opinion on the product. Since there are no trials I can only beg and plead for a free copy to review.
Thanks
Stewart Moss
I would like Tower Defense for something to do when i'm sitting on the toilet at work avoiding doing my actual job.
That’s why i have Experiment 13! lol.
I would like Tower Defense because I thoroughly enjoy all tower defense games and this looks like the best version for WM to date.
i want this app !
thx
Who doesn't deserve a free copy of free stuff? Probably me
I deserve this game because I can proudly call myself a Tower Defense game addict. I've played every possible (I think) tower defense games out there, including the Balloon Tower Defense series, Desktop tower defense, Vector Tower Defense, Flash circle Tower defense, last but not least the ones on iphones and windows mobile. Windows mobile has the Azgard Defence, but I found myself looking with envy whenever I see the Field Runner on iphone. Not because Azgard Defence sucked, but the interface is just really circa Pocket PC 2002. So, I'm really excited to see the changes that this game will bring to the windows mobile world. I've seen the video previews and I thought the UI can really match the ones on iphone and breathe a fresh air into the WM gaming world. Thanks.
I simply love TD games, but no trial? come on…
I will like to win a copy of tower defense because I am the best defender in the universe!! and with my touch pro in hand will be invincible…:)
I'd love to get a copy of this game! I deserve it because I work 36-hour shifts at our hospital, and would love something to help relieve the stress. Would love to play Tower Defense on my Touch Pro2!
Congrats to bob and scorpiopr86, you guys are the Winners of the FREE copy. plz check your email
Everytime i get to level 100 the game crashes, any one else had this problem??
I am new to owning a WM device, and being a gamer haven't seen any interesting or amazing game on this platform as of yet.
On the other end am also equally frustrated and jealous, with the huge pile of contents my friends have on their I-Phones ………..
Another great game by color stone. This one isn't as much as a rip off (as flight commander). But yet again, insane price, $25 dollars for a game.
Even thought I do admit they are the only one making quality games for windows mobile at the moment.
Another great game by color stone. This one isn't as much as a rip off (as flight commander). But yet again, insane price, $25 dollars for a game.
Even thought I do admit they are the only one making quality games for windows mobile at the moment.
i like it the most
I could give u a free copy of it just pm me ^^ or email me [ MOD EDIT : Email Removed ]
It does create a shortcut, its in the folder “games”. nice game, a true time killer
I bought this game on wm marketplace. But I can’t kill any soldier!! It’s a bug or i’m too newbie with this game?
we didn’t have that issue when we tested the game. Its best to contact the developer to see if its a known issue with your device
ok, thanks!