Steam Tower Defense Round-Up
Tower defense games are one of my favorite genres. They have
action, they have real-time strategy, they have resource management. Life and Tower
Defense share some common elements. Action games alone can be taxing, when
played for a long time. TD games are in it for the long haul. One can fritter
away an entire day all at once.
But two games have me spoiled for all the rest. Thankfully,
they’re both available on Steam.
PIXELJUNK MONSTERS
Pixeljunk Monsters is *still*, after ten years or so, my
gold standard against which all other TD games are measured. I quite happily picked
this one up in a Fanatical bundle (ongoing at the time I write this) along with
fifteen other games, for an insane $3. Needless to say, Monsters is worth more
than that on its own.
Especially given that it’s Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate, a HD
reworking of the original Playstation 3 and PSP versions. I am pretty sure I
see slightly more detail, so that’s nice. It has both of the islands contained
in the original game, plus a third that generates random levels, and
incorporates additional monsters.
You play a parent who is sort of a Tikiperson in a mask,
defending your gaggle of twenty children. You build your towers in spots
occupied by trees that you tear down, limiting your placement, and contributing
heavily to your overall strategy. There are probably eight to ten different
foes, and variants of each, in later levels sporting shields or extended
lifespans. This keeps the difficulty progressive, forcing you to develop new
tactics over time.
Defeated enemies are converted to coins, and occasional
gems. Collecting these let you buy additional towers, and upgrade them as well.
Coins for new towers, gems for upgrading and acquiring new forms of defense.
Gathering these items becomes a big part of your actions,
because without them, you’re screwed. While I generally find collecting mass numbers
of things tedious, the way it’s handled here is as enjoyable as the rest of the
game. Time spent collecting the disappearing items creates an opportunity cost,
at times, and you’ll have to decide to either go ahead of the enemies and build
or collect more items. Conveniently, you exert a tiny amount of gravitational
pull on coins, which can allow you to collect some even when they’re covered by
enemies. Colliding with an enemy results in you dropping your coins, losing a
few in the process.
The gems represent another point of diverging strategies.
You can use them as one way to upgrade towers, or save them and purchase a new
tower type.
Your standard tower types are available early on: arrows, boulders,
and anti-aircraft guns. The purchased towers unleash some impressive new
firepower, spewing fire, lightning, or even Tesla death rays. Naturally, not
all towers work on all enemies.
Luckily, you can also upgrade towers by standing in them, so
you can choose to do both, if need be. Like collecting coins, this can force
you to decide your best immediate course of action.
While you can win a level having only a single child left
(they come back on the next level…), unlocking new levels requires you to ‘rainbow’
them by winning without losing any of your children. Expect to restart many
times when you have that goal in mind.
I am just scratching the surface, here, and absolutely not
doing this game justice. The graphics are big and bold, impeccably drawn. The
soundtrack and effects are all perfect. The level difficulty is well-balanced.
Pixeljunk Monsters is pixel perfect, start to finish. It has a two-player co-op
mode, and on Steam, a two-player online co-op mode as well. There’s even a
secret keypress that unlocks an AI co-op player, useful for challenge modes
that require two people. Did I mention the challenge modes? No, of course not. These
put specific limitations on certain maps: use only arrow towers, say, or complete
a level without any towers upgrading.
There are years of gameplay to be found here. Pixeljunk Monsters
is possibly not just a game, but a lifestyle.
10/10, will play again. And again. There’s actually a sequel,
but for a true old school experience, start with this one.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/243780/PixelJunk_Monsters_Ultimate/
Kingdom Rush has a lot of the elements that make Monsters so infinitely
replayable, and adds a lot of unique twists, firmly cementing its position as a
rival standard bearer.
Whether the original Kingdom Rush, Frontiers, Origins, or Vengeance,
this is a game that takes tower defense to a new level.
It shares most of the things that makes Monsters great. And,
let’s be honest, these are things that define TD in the first place. But from
there, the developers pile on tons of new elements, putting this one in a class
of its own.
Rather than controlling your hero character in order to
build, it serves as a sort of last line guardian. It can however be relocated
if need be.
Another way it differs is that you are given a wealth of
special attacks, each unique to the many defenders. These include things like
arrow storms, lightning attacks, and magic. You can also place temporary
warrior characters in the path of incoming enemies. There are plenty of additional
heroes available as earnable, or via microtransaction purchases.
Graphically, it goes in a different direction as well. Everything
is small, but with a lot of detail and an excellent look. In fact, it looks so
good, I prefer to play it on the PC, because on mobile, you’ll spend a lot of
your play time with the map zoomed out a bit. The control schemes differ, but
they’re both well-suited. I tend to think, again, that’s it’s slightly better
on the PC. You can do certain things quicker, and there are less chances to
make accidental movements.
While there is a story, delivered in a nice comic book
style, I have to say it’s mere lagniappe. You don’t play a game like this for
the story. It does show how very polished this series is, however, and is
generally great to read through once.
There are two touches that set this game well apart from all
others.
One is the level of background detail. That’s not just
regarding the excellently drawn and crafted levels, but there are usually
things to discover and click on in the background. In some games of the series
more than others, there are loads of fun pop culture references. Lots of Star
Wars, Dune, etc. in one of them, although at this point, I’m not sure which. It
does add to the overall appeal of the game.
The other is the achievement system. This carries on the pop
culture thing to another degree. So many games and even things like Hitchhiker’s
Guide are given the nod, here. It reeks of thoughtfulness and polish. Some of
the achievements are even related to the background details you discover. You
will eventually find yourself playing a level again just to find the secret bit
you missed.
KR is a lot more frantic than Monsters, if you want to
compare them directly. Monsters generally lets you catch your breath more, and
is about thinking ahead and mining resources. In KR, you rarely get a break
during a level. Especially since you are rewarded for calling the next wave up
early. That can be helpful, but also make for a nightmare scenario if you abuse
it.
This, like Monsters, is a strong buy from me, although I see
Vengeance is a bit pricey at $20.00. (Origins is $15.00.)
I’m not saying it’s
not worth it. It almost definitely is. But try and catch it on sale, I suppose.
There’s a very good bundle available, as well. Check out the playable demo, and
I suspect you’ll be hooked. Assuming you like this sort of thing. If you don’t,
why would you be reading this?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/816340/Kingdom_Rush_Origins__Tower_Defense/
At this point in my little roundup, things get iffy. I am reviewing them in the order in which I like them. With a bonus game at the end that has become one of my most played mobile games.
Age of Defense has a lot going for it, really. It’s firmly
in the same camp as the first two, and has a graphical style that approaches
Kingdom Rush. Approaches from a distance, but still. It has a nice look, and a
surprising amount of detail that is revealed as you play. To date, I haven’t
discovered anything clickable.
While there is great variety in the types of monsters you
face, there are as of now only three tower types. I find that to be a bit limiting.
I haven’t quite worked out how to upgrade them, but that’s my fault for not
paying attention, and having an aversion to reading instructions.
The introduction, tutorial, and entire user interface is
done in a caveman hieroglyphics style (I forgot to mention this game has a caveman
motif). It is definitely charming, but not as straightforward as it could be.
Not a negative, just an observation.
There are also a few extra weapons that are somewhat similar
to what Kingdom Rush offers. So far, there is a sort of spike trap you can put in
the path of the creatures, giving damage and even sometimes killing them
entirely. After playing a while, I was also presented with a boulder that you
can drop like a meteor or something, killing a few baddies and then providing
an obstacle that forces them to go around, letting you get in a few extra hits.
When you’ve gotten further into the game, previously unnoticed
bits of the background come into play, both in your favor, and against.
Creatures in craters or caves might eat some of your enemies. Others act as
portals, spewing even more enemies, or allowing them to warp ahead.
Something else I’ve noticed is that the enemies, unlike in Monsters
and Kingdom Rush, don’t have completely fixed paths. When they hit an obstacle,
or each other, they adjust their route slightly. That adds a tiny bit more to
the variation, making the same level play a little differently each time. It
also matters where concerns the spikes you can put down, as there is no
guarantee they will be walked upon.
Having a decent look and solid gameplay definitely make this
one a possible purchase. It’s still in active development, and that’s also a
good thing. I do think I’ve noticed a problem with the counting of enemies that
get past you, unless I am missing some detail by not reading the directions. I
did notify the developer, so hopefully this will be addressed or cleared up.
Two levels have been added since I bought it (in some TD bundle which
necessitated this review). The latest version is called .81, and that indicates
that Age of Defense has some room to grow.
If you’re a tower defense veteran, I think what speaks most
strongly for this game is that it is hard. You might make it to level two
without anyone getting through, but that’s unlikely the first time you play it.
Level two is probably four times harder. In fact, I don’t believe I legitimately
made it to level three, but there you go. Looking at my stats, I have played this for an
hour and a quarter, all told. That’s saying something.
It's a solid indie release, and you can do worse than supporting
their continuing efforts. If you’ve played the hell out of Kingdom Rush and
Monsters, give this one a go. With more feedback and testing, it might even
grow into a game you love.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/603320/Age_of_Defense/
WARSTONE TD
I *should* like Warstone TD more than I do. At the very
least, I should like it more than Age of Defense.
Part of the reason I don’t is because it takes more effort
to get into it. The first time I played it was for nine whole minutes. Not
enough time to really see what it’s about. But unlike AoD, it’s not a ‘jump
right in and play’ sort of affair.
I mean, sure, you can jump right into level one and play.
With a little annoying story stuff first. I do wish all games made the intro
stuff optional. I prefer learning by discovery. But level one doesn’t begin to
tell the whole story, literally and figuratively.
Warstone has an RPG element to it. There’s a town in which
your adventurer is based, which you return to after completing levels. Here you
can develop and upgrade towers, acquire new types of warriors, and be given new
quests.
Upon my second dive, I was actually presented with being
able to set the RPG elements to auto, doing away with the story. The developers
advise against this, but it’s an option. So that would actually make it more
immediately playable to some. I don’t play this sort of game to muck about with
a lot of conversations. Plus, I found a glaring typo (if you’ve read my books,
you will spot the irony in this complaint…) which detracted heavily from the
experience.
Graphically, it falls somewhere between Monsters and Kingdom
Rush, while not actually reaching the level of either. The backdrops are well
done, but don’t quite reach the level of charm that PM or KR display. In this
one, however, the tower elements and creatures are rendered 3D. In fact, strictly
speaking, there are no towers, as such, but pedestals upon which you place
warriors of differing types. But that’s really splitting hairs, isn’t it?
And, really, I think the 3D element of the creatures
detracts from things, overall. They just aren’t as captivating as the enemies
in the two games I love the most. I wouldn’t quite call Warstone soulless, but it
feels like some sort of essential, indefinable quality is missing, somewhere. I mean, things look fine. It’s not like it's amateurish. It’s just not as charming as I would like it to be.
Having said that, there is a lot going on, here. Truth be
told, there is way more going on in Warstone than Age of Defense. By all
rights, this should probably rank above it in this review. But that would mean
moving paragraphs and rewriting things. And the game just doesn’t grab me to
the degree that I feel like doing that.
Yet.
It's a credible effort, and with more investigation, this
one just might become more well-liked than it is to me right now. The things I
don’t like about it are largely a matter of personal taste, and if a little
more complexity between levels is something you enjoy, check this one out for
yourself. I don’t think it will ever reach classic status, but it’s far from
crap.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/562500/Warstone_TD/
GUARDS
Guards is crap.
I’m kidding! But it’s about as Tower Defense related as Plants vs. Zombies, without being as graphically interesting, or with the same level of gameplay.
Again, like Warstone, it has a set 2D background with rendered 3D gameplay elements. For whatever reason, this sort of graphic style leaves me cold. I demand charming, damnit!
It’s turn based. You pick a team of, at the onset, four
warrior types, which are arranged in a fixed position. You can then swap their
positions each time it is your turn. Some have an extended range, some are stronger
but operate at close range. The difference between a wizard or a barbarian, to
use a quick example. Since you do this each time the opposing side makes their moves, it’s not
even as fast paced as PvZ, which wasn’t tower defense as such, but was pretty
enjoyable nevertheless.
While that does make for an interesting strategy element,
this is a lot more like playing some sort of battle chess than an action game,
as such.
I really don’t think this game should have been included in
a tower defense bundle. It’s really too much of a stretch. If you like RPG
characters without any RPG trappings, and tower defense without the elements of
tower defense, you could possibly enjoy whatever this is. I, thus far, have
not. I mean, I have something like 20,000 games at my fingertips. It takes a bit
more than this to get me invested in a game. Granted, I haven’t played it
extensively, and there could be more to it than I have taken in thus far.
My problem is, I will quite likely never know.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/460340/Guards/
IRON MARINES
Iron Marines I include as a sort of palate cleanser. It’s a
hybrid tower defense/real-time strategy game, more RTS than TD. But the big selling point here is
that it’s from the developers of Kingdom Rush, using the same engine.
That goes a long way toward making this a good one.
But it also stands on its own. While there are often (but
not always) little outposts where you can add turrets and the like, this leans
much more heavily toward small squads. These aren’t outposts you build, they
already exist. You’re just kitting them out with weapons and shields, for the
most part.
It’s a space game, which is refreshing, after so many
forests and magical spells. Like KR, you can get it on the PC or for mobile.
Sadly, I only have this one on my phone, but I have logged several hours
playing it. It is a great time killer when you are getting your oil changed,
waiting at the DMV and what have you.
Since it’s a space marine game, you have a squad leader, and
like KR, there are multiple leads to choose from and unlock, each with
differing abilities. But there are also mechs, aliens with oddball skills like
healing, snipers, rangers. I made it through all of the first two worlds so
far, and I’m not entirely sure I’ve seen and used them all yet.
The missions and levels, grouped into different planets that
each have their own unique looks, have a variety of mission types. Defense,
conquest, and rescue are just some of the tasks you can expect.
Plus, each world has a whacking big boss at the end that will
take every bit of skill you’ve acquired. Expect to run to Youtube at some
point. I certainly did. Depending on your playing style, they might require an
entirely different approach to how you play the game.
I suspect this one is even better on the PC. You can command
individuals in your small (usually 3-6 person) squad, or send them as a group. I’m
never 100% on sending groups, which involves some double tapping on the ground
that I can’t seem to master. Possibly because of my aversion to reading
instructions. Even so, this is a sold buy. It’s a bit like a tiny, modern
Command & Conquer. That’s a very good thing, in my opinion.
If you’ve enjoyed and played through the Kingdom Rush
series, this is a logical must buy. And if you’ve played them already, you probably already have. Ironhide
are quality developers of a known, erm, quality. This is a sleeper hit, and one
that deserves more attention.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/931280/Iron_Marines/
If you’re dithering or just trust me implicitly, get the available Ironhide bundle on the Steam store. (https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/11048/Ironhides_Ultimate_Strategy_Bundle/) You’ll receive at least a solid year of excellent gaming, even if you play a lot. Kingdom Rush, like Monsters, is a game you can go back to even if you’ve played it all the way through. And you just can’t beat Monsters for $3. It’s worth buying even at five times that much. But if you hurry, there’s almost two weeks left to pick up Monsters, as well as the also very good Pixeljunk Shooter, along with a proverbial ton of other games.
https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/mega-bundle-4
And there you have it. A small smattering of tower defense games, with something in it for anyone who enjoys this type of gameplay. Don’t talk to me about Bloons, because I don’t want to hear it…
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