tower-defense
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Dungeons & Dam: Two great structures in one game
Acquire's Dungeons & Dam, or "Dandam" for short, is a pretty strange concept. We don't know how some designer got the idea to combine dungeons and rushing water, but it seems like it could work. We first saw this game in Famitsu last week, but this is the first actual information we've been able to figure out about it.We were just talking about how great it is to have controllable characters in a tower defense game, and it looks like Acquire agrees. Well, this isn't "tower defense" so much as dungeon defense. During the day, you'll recruit adventurers who will mine for materials and build defenses around the city, including dams. At night, creatures will come, but so will flowing water which, depending on how you have directed it with your dams, can help hold back or defeat enemies. At the same time, you'll be traversing the dungeon and fighting. We fully encourage more developers to experiment with defense-type games!
DS Fanboy Review: Lock's Quest
I hate tower defense. I've tried to play tower defense games numerous times, giving it my best try after MTV's Stephen Totilo's nomination of Desktop Tower Defense as his Game of the Year, and failed to clear even a single round every time -- or to have any fun trying. There's nothing fun (to me) about running out of money trying to build reinforcements and then sitting by helpless as entropy, in the form of enemy soldiers, destroys all of the work I just did. Lock's Quest solves my tower defense problem, creating something that is playable by even non-crazy people. In the process, developer 5th Cell has added something that seems rather difficult to add to this kind of game: a story, and a good one at that. %Gallery-19901%
Lock's Demo now available on Nintendo Channel
The DS demo section of the Nintendo Channel is usually swamped with bland Touch! Generations fare, but it now looks like Nintendo has abandoned that policy to bring us some potentially interesting games to try out. What a novel concept! Top of your "to download" list (if you haven't already bought it) should be Lock's Quest, 5th Cell's ace tower defense/real-time strategy, which reviewers have been throwing superlatives at from every direction (stay tuned for our review later this week). Spore Creatures is there also, and while it may not have attracted the same loving critical response as Lock's Quest, it still piques our curiosity, simply because it's not the Spore everybody else has been banging the drum for. There's a demo of MySims Kingdom as well, which looks adorable, and an anagrams demo for sdrsorsCwo SD. These all expire October 5th, so don't delay! %Gallery-19901%
See PSN title Savage Moon in action
We've just watched the first, straight-from-PAX video of upcoming PSN title Savage Moon (don't worry, we've put it after the break for you) and it looks (as Sony said it would) like a sophisticated tower defense game, albeit a really attractive one. We do have one quibble we feel compelled to pass on though: The decision to put crowd noises into the game is a bizarre one. They're almost louder than the guns! C'mon, Sony, get it together! Who wants to hear that?!
Hanging out in Ninjatown
Come my ninjaCome come my ninjaYou're my defenderMy wee ninjaOops, wrong town. Today, we're on about Ninjatown, the adorable Tower Defense-style game which uses cookies as currency. In fact, we've got ten cutesy new screens. Even though Ninjatown is based on time-honored gameplay principles, it takes such a fresh approach that we're always happy to see something about it. The enemies, the minions of Mr. Demon, can't resist the Ninja Baby, and neither can we.
PAX 2008 hands-on: Defense Grid: The Awakening
Click to enlarge I have to confess this right off the bat: I don't have a high end PC gaming rig. Heck, I don't even have a PC, I use a Mac. Sure, I could load Boot Camp on this thing, but frankly my hard drive is far too crammed with music, photos, and scant room for anything gaming related. I even had to delete my free copy of the "Chess" app to make room for more. However, that is going to have to change. Early this morning I spent some quality hands-on time with Defense Grid: The Awakening. It's a tower defense game that starts out fairly easy, and then quickly gets hard. In fact, I had my ass handed to me pretty squarely when I tried out the "hard" level, and I'm going to have to grab a PC to game on so I can beat the damn thing. They have an Xbox 360 version in the works, but it will come out some time after. Check out the gallery of screenshots below, including two new exclusives, and then hit the break to find out more about the game.%Gallery-30801%
VC Friday: Yee-haw!
Light gun game Wild West Guns rides into town the European Wii Shop today for its worldwide debut, complete with Zapper compatibility, six levels, four-player support, and a whole host of mildly offensive steretypes. Truth be told, it looks quite fun in the post-break trailer -- certainly a lot more engaging than, say, Target Terror. Far more importantly, it gave us an excuse to post a Will Smith video. Wicky, wicky! Defend Your Castle has also finally arrived, and is totally worth a look. Wild West Guns -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points Defend Your Castle -- WiiWare -- 500 Wii Points Swing past the break for videos of each. %Gallery-17240%
E308: Lock's Quest strategy goodies attack E3
After getting our hands on Lock's Quest, we've decided that tower defense fans need to take a look at this one (stay tuned for some impressions later!). While the trailer above doesn't do too great of a job of selling the game (sans the phrase "robot invaders"), gameplay clips make Lock's Quest look hectic and fun. Oh, and don't worry if you hated Drawn to Life, since that connection is just being played up by THQ for marketing hype.Check after the break to see what we're talking about in terms of gameplay. Oh, and hey, whaddya know -- there are new screens in the gallery, too. Make sure to give those a look before (or after) feasting your eyes on video goodness.%Gallery-19901%
E308: A sneaky visit to Ninjatown
I don't know a thing about Tower Defense, so Ninjatown was scary and alien to me. But, unlike most strategy things, the world is so super-cute and appealing that it motivated me to try to play it. The game begins with an adorable cutscene in which the mayor, on his way to a good cower, entrusts Ol' Master Ninja to defeat the incoming minions of Mr. Demon.Playing Ninjatown is like a sort of strategy Actraiser. You pick a square parcel of land and place the ninja group of your choice there; the building gets built, then ninjas of whatever kind come out and start working. Wee Ninjas beat up on enemies, Sniper Ninjas shoot peas, and Snow Ninjas freeze enemies with snowballs. You can also build training centers and other enrichment buildings nearby. The ninja fortifications can also be leveled up for more stamina and attack power. All of these use cookies, the official currency of Ninjatown, which are replenished by defeating enemies.%Gallery-15839%
IGN and 5th Cell boss construct Lock's Quest interview
5th Cell co-founder and creative director Jeremiah Slaczka has taken time out from working on Lock's Quest to chat to IGN's Matt Bozon about the forthcoming construction/Tower Defense game. In the resulting interview, there's plenty of discussion about 5th Cell's commitment to innovative games (something we can totally believe, considering 5th Cell created Drawn to Life), and also some concrete details passed on. Slaczka reveals that Lock's Quest's story mode should last for around 20 hours, and also clarifies the game's multiplayer for us: apparently, there'll be no Wi-Fi play, but wireless local play for two players, in the form of a Vs. mode. On an unrelated-to-Lock's-Quest note, Slaczka also appears fairly keen to distance 5th Cell from THQ's licensed Drawn to Life spin-off, Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition. "With SpongeBob for example, that's our IP, but we didn't make it," he points out. "That's cool that THQ wants to move in that direction, and that's fine, but that's not something we're interested in personally." %Gallery-19901%
Too much tutorial before Lock's Quest is unlocked?
Stephen Totilo's brief impressions of 5th Cell's Lock's Quest aren't as sterling as previous impressions we've read, but only because he seemingly hasn't been able to get into the game yet. Given his status as an extreme Desktop Tower Defense fan, Totilo will probably be enchanted by the action/structure-building gameplay found in Lock's Quest, but first he has to endure a seemingly overlong tutorial level. "I wanted to get going, to play it and enjoy it," Totilo said in a frustrated blog post. "But first it had to take me to school." Long tutorials have been a problem since games became complicated enough to need them (and since developers realized that we're not going to read the manual, no matter what). Just consider this fair warning that Lock's Quest is going to require a little prep time before it's suitable for pick-up-and-play. %Gallery-19901% [Boxart via Gamefly]
Ol' Master Ninja's ol' magic
Ol' Master Ninja has plenty of techniques at his disposal to help take care of the denizens of Ninjatown. This trailer illustrates some of the ninja magic that can be used in-game to augment the monster-killing abilities of Ninjatown's silent, cuddly assassins. One special ability allows the player to refill ninjas' health by humming into the mic while they are on screen. Another gives Ol' Master Ninja a magnifying glass that can be directed onto enemies with the stylus. Ninjas aren't helpless on their own, of course: Forest Ninjas shoot barrages of arrows, and Business Ninjas can ... smack dudes in the head with cell phones.%Gallery-15839%
Boxart Battle: Lock's Quest vs. eyestrain
Finally, conclusive evidence of what the new 5th Cell game's title is going to be! It would certainly be a waste of a logo if the name were to change.Nintendo.com's page for Lock's Quest is the first to show the game's boxart, tiny though it may be. It's definitely big enough to see what's going on: Lock, slightly Sora-like in his short pants, poses triumphantly with a big old wrench over the ruins of some Clockwork enemies, as the game's signature structures (and more enemies) loom in the background. A huge red inset advertises the Drawn to Life connection, suggesting that Drawn to Life really did well!Even in a tiny image, we can tell that the art is excellent. 5th Cell's artists remain on top of their game. According to Nintendo.com, the game is out September 8.
Ninjatown: Tower Defense with ninjas
We knew developer Venan Entertainment and Shawnimals creator Shawn Smith were intending to create an "action-strategy" title with Ninjatown, but, for some reason, it never occurred to us that what they meant was a ninja-themed Tower Defense game.Reviewing IGN's gameplay clips and Joystiq's hands-on preview, it's obvious now how Ninjatown will play: During a brief building phase, you'll build ninja huts along a path which will produce varied ninja units. Enemies will start to charge down the path, and your newly created ninjas must try to stop them.Managing and commanding the ninjas from a hot air balloon as Ol' Master Ninja, players can jump into the battle with special attacks, such as smacking enemies with the Ol' Master Ninja's cane and slowing them down by blowing into the DS's microphone.Publisher SouthPeak expects to include 30+ scenarios total, encompassing five different gameworld areas, for Ninjatown's fall release. Though there's already at least one other Tower Defense commercial title due for the DS -- 5th Cell's Lock's Quest -- the cute character designs, playful approach, and use of the system's features could be enough to turn Ninjatown into something special.%Gallery-15839%Read - Joystiq hands-on: NinjatownRead - IGN's Ninjatown videos
Wii Fanboy Review: Defend Your Castle
Click to see more screens from Defend Your Castle The browser game that many of you have tried at one time or another has been revamped for Wii and launched alongside WiiWare earlier this morning. After spending a good bit of time with the game, we're confident that we can present a decent review of the title. With a price point of 500 Wii points, as well as a fairly addictive game just lurking beneath that small admission price, we're happy to report that Defend Your Castle is a good game and well worth your small sum of money. %Gallery-17240%
WiiWare goes live!
As we anticipated, Nintendo waited until the last possible moment to reveal the details on WiiWare's U.S. launch. In a press release which describes WiiWare as the "most democratic environment in industry history," Nintendo confirmed the six titles that launched with the download service today -- and it looks like the leaked information from the weekend was spot-on: LostWinds -- 1000 Wii Points Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King -- 1500 Wii Points Pop -- 700 Wii Points Defend Your Castle -- 500 Wii Points V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack -- 700 Wii Points TV Show King -- 1000 Wii Points So it's finally up -- hurray! Monday mornings haven't felt quite this optimistic in some time! Have any of you lot already downloaded yourself some WiiWare? %Gallery-16505% %Gallery-12067% [Via press release]
Nintendo reveals WiiWare launch List
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_reveals_WiiWare_launch_List'; The North American WiiWare launch is almost upon us, and instead of the stealth releases that we thought were coming, Nintendo's press release of WiiWare games debuting this Monday (along with their point values) was recently leaked. While we can't be sure this list is 100% valid, it looks like we can expect the following: Defend Your Castle -- 500 Wii Points Pop -- 700 Wii Points V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack -- 700 Wii Points TV Show King -- 1000 Wii Points LostWinds -- 1000 Wii Points Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King -- 1500 Wii Points Although we're disappointed by the lack of Dr. Mario, this looks like a pretty solid launch list to us. It'll be difficult to pick and choose exactly which titles we want, but there are definitely some that stand out more than others. How about you? Do you plan on downloading any of the above, or are you going to wait for impressions and reviews first? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
XGen defends their work on Defend Your Castle
IGN has a rather extensive interview, along with other media, for WiiWare title Defend Your Castle. We don't have to tell you how good this new downloadable title is looking, so when we hear the developers behind it made a conscious effort not to do a quick port of the PC Flash game and instead are working to completely overhaul it, adding in 4-player co-op and the new graphical style we all love, we fall in love. XGen Studios, your chocolates and roses are in the mail. %Gallery-17240%
Defend Your Castle Wii Ware trailer is super-cute
We've known about its existence for about a month, and now we get to know what cult classic Flash game Defend Your Castle will look like when it come to Nintendo's Wii Ware service. The answer, it turns out, is pretty freakin' cute. Compared to the original Flash version, the Wii Ware Defend Your Castle sports a significant lack of blood, perhaps not surprising for the family-friendly system. What is pleasantly surprising is the new paper cutout aesthetic, which reminds us of a cross between Paper Mario and Pencil Whipped. We're also fond of the robust more robust animation, which doesn't miss a beat even when hundreds of stick figures storm the castle in the trailer's thrilling multiplayer co-op finale. We haven't seen such an effective mix of cuteness and carnage since the town's last kitten massacre (warning: this last link is not for fans of kittens).
Defend Your Castle trailer storms the Internet
We weren't exactly hard to convince, since we already loved the "sweded" look of the Wii Ware version of Defend Your Castle, but we think that had we been in the "do not want" camp, seeing the game in motion would have melted our hardened hearts. Every interface is made to appear as if it was crafted from household items. The temple, where you convert enemies into followers, is a paint can. The battering rams are popsicle sticks. The cursor is a bread clip. It's as if you made a found-art collage depicting a Wii game! And then, uh ... made it move and stuff. %Gallery-17240%
