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DS

North America

SteamWorld Tower Defense

by Matthew Blundon - July 18, 2010, 3:43 pm EDT
Total comments: 1

7

One of DSiWare's better tower defense games.

While there is no shortage of tower defense games on DSiWare, with games such as Fieldrunners and Starship Defense already released this year, SteamWorld: Tower Defense is arguably one of the better of the bunch. 

SteamWorld: Tower Defense plays like a typical tower defense game in which you are given a map and your goal is to use your money to create units that will deal with the enemies before they reach your base. In Steamworld, a place that is dominated by steam engines, brass and polished wood, your goal is to play as a group of robots and protect your land against humans that are invading it for gold. You must stop their progress before they reach your gold mines. It is a simple concept but is made difficult by the addition of multiple paths that enemies can take and a limited amount of money to spend on defense units. Money can be also used to upgrade pre-existing units, so budgeting will prove to be vital in a game of this nature.

The developers, Image & Form, have created a fairly classical tower defense game that does little to break away from the traditional mould of the genre. That is not necessarily a bad thing as what SteamWorld does, it does well, just not up to the levels of other games on the service such as Starship Defense.

One major problem with the game that might be enough to discourage newcomers to the genre, is the steep difficulty curve. The first few stages are fairly straightforward and simple but things quickly heat up. New gameplay mechanics are constantly thrown into the mix, and with the increasing number of enemies on the screen, it becomes hard to try and figure out what unit will work best.

SteamWorld is by no means a bad game. Not only is it one of the better tower defense games on the service but it is also Image & Form’s first release on the platform. Needless to say, they are off to a great start. Their debut effort is a pretty traditional game that packs quite a challenge. If tower defense games are your thing, look no further than this.

Summary

Pros
  • Stylus control
  • Unique premises
Cons
  • Can be too challenging for newcomers
  • Standard tower defense gameplay

Talkback

StratosJuly 19, 2010

I loved Starship Defense, but I was looking for something new to try on the service in the same genre. Looks like I might go for this one.

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Genre
Developer Image & Form

Worldwide Releases

na: SteamWorld Tower Defense
Release Jul 05, 2010
PublisherImage & Form
RatingEveryone 10+
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