Army of Darkness Defense HD
Score: 87% ESRB: 12+ Publisher: Backflip Studios Developer: Backflip Studios Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Strategy
Graphics & Sound: Army of Darkness Defense HD plays to its campy inspiration perfectly. Characters are more caricatures of their film counterparts. They're big and have a very rounded look that completely works for the license. There isn't much in the way of variety - you're always in the same castle and there's only a handful of human troops and Deadites - though when the game is this much fun to look at, it doesn't matter. The game is loaded with subtle, and not so subtle, film references. If you've seen the movie recently, you'll pick up on just about everything. If not, one wave is enough to send you running to Netflix. Bits of film dialogue are scattered throughout, maybe even a little too much. I love a good Bruce Campbell one-liner as much as anyone else, but "too much of a good thing and all..." I do have to give massive props to how the magic phrase (and Ash's flawless recollection of it) is used. Giving it away would ruin the fun, but it will bring a massive smile to fan's faces.
Gameplay: Army of Darkness Defense HD relies heavily on the "defense" mechanic, though it tosses in a few really cool concepts to perk up a genre that been growing a little long in the tooth. Gameplay is reminiscent of Plants vs. Zombies, but with one major change. Unlike PopCap's defense game, everything is moving. Deadites stream in from the right side of the castle (which is about 4 - 5 screens long) while Ash and his troops enter from the left. The goal is to call out troops and defend the Necronomicon (placed on the left end of the castle) from the incoming hordes. Each wave features different Deadites and a different number of hordes, which make up the wave's main "push." The two opposing sides set up tug-of-war dynamic, with each group jockeying for ground. You want to keep Deadites far from the Necronomicon. Yes, that's the point of the game, but keeping Deadites further away allows your castle defenses to help keep incoming hordes at bay. As you fight, a Blacksmith meter slowly increases, giving you the ability to summon troops. Enemies will drop boost bars, though grabbing them requires sending Ash into the fray. This adds a fun risk-reward element. The coin and resource boosts are nice, but can get Ash killed if you're not careful. Between waves, you can spend gold on upgrades to your troops, castle defenses or Ash. The idea works on a fundamental level and is important to gameplay. It also doesn't matter as much as it initially appears. Although it looks like you have to make important decisions on what to upgrade, you can max out lesser troop types and spam them for a cheap, effective army. You don't have to play this way, but in later waves, it became my strategy of choice.
Difficulty: Army of Darkness Defense HD provides a nice challenge. It isn't as difficult as other defense games, though some waves will keep you on your toes and force you to change tactics. The aforementioned spam tactic works, but is far from a no fail, "money" tactic. I defaulted to the scheme a lot during later waves, though I still had to decide when to send troops out, when to have Ash venture into a group of enemies and when to allow my Blacksmith to upgrade rather than spend points on troops. Knowing how to purchase upgrades isn't as hard, at least if you're paying attention to your in-game tactics. I upgraded cheap troops and castle defenses, though you may choose to upgrade Ash and use him to hold off enemies until you can summon more powerful troops. It's more of a question of how you want to play rather than finding certain solutions to each wave. If you're desperate for an edge, additional coins are available as an in-app purchase. I never felt the urge or need to purchase coins, though it is nice to have the option if you're truly stuck.
Game Mechanics: Another major twist is you control Ash, who acts as a hero unit. He auto-attacks whenever an enemy is within range, so you're only responsible for moving left and right, which is handled by tapping the appropriate side of the screen. There's also a selection of perk abilities, which you can call after a cooldown period. These include "Super Boomstick," a massive blast from Ash's shotgun, or "The Wrong Book," which sucks enemies into a swirling green vortex. New perks are unlocked as you progress, though more powerful ones have slightly longer cooldown periods. Deciding which two perks to select has, at least in my experience, a bigger impact on gameplay than which troops you take into battle. It is tempting to grab two powerful ones, but with the longer cooldown periods, you may not get to use them as much. Troop selection is a little disappointing. There's a decent number of normal and Hero units, each with their own special abilities. Yet, at times it can feel like you're just calling out whatever you can afford rather than a good counter to whatever is headed your way. There may be some sort of point-counterpoint system at play, but it isn't apparent. Since you know the basic makeup of the next wave, I would have preferred fewer enemies with a deeper level of strategy. I also don't like that you're restricted to a 2D plane. It makes combat much easier, but takes away another strategic element. Choosing which lanes to defend would have added another much needed decision to gameplay and added new strategic options. Army of Darkness Defense HD stumbles, but Backflip Studios did a great job at translating the license into a game. Fans will definitely dig what the game has to offer, and it may just create a few new ones as well.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: Army of Darkness Defense HD || iTunes Store
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