Lock's Quest comes to us through the same creative minds that delivered Drawn To Life, so expectations were higher than usual. Expectations are met quite well across the board, and we find in Lock's Quest a similar philosophy that might best be summed up as, "Don't just create something for players... let the players create something!" Lock's Quest doesn't execute on this with as much of a tabula rasa approach as we saw in Drawn To Life, but structure has its benefits as we will see.

The world of Lock's Quest is painted in some detail. Cut-scenes that depict the story-so-far are in the lead, followed by in-game dialogue, and small scripted segments that move the story forward. Lock and his compatriots are drawn in a light, cartoon style that will appeal to younger gamers. Even the bad guys and scary characters come across as a bit cute, but not all the way toward the super-deformed end of the spectrum. The music and sound effects are in a similar vein, with distinctive tunes that won't merit a CD release but don't compel you to turn down the volume. Lock's Quest is at heart a Real-Time Strategy game, and depends on a clean interface. RTS design usually has form following function, which means that in a game with a complex series of commands, the interface becomes equally complex. Lock's Quest is lucky in that it doesn't have a high level of complexity, so the visuals during a battle or in preparation for battle are scaled down and intuitive. There's an argument to be made for adding a bit more complexity, but only toward the goal of reaching a more core RTS audience. It doesn't appear that was the goal here, so keeping things simple will no doubt pay dividends for younger gamers interested in a "RTS Lite" experience.

The story behind Lock's Quest feels strangely similar to the recent Hellboy movie (and game) storyline. A tireless army of mechanical soldiers, a disgruntled outcast leading them, and your seemingly inadequate force in opposition. Fortunately for everyone involved, these mechanical soldiers are red instead of golden... Lock's Quest begins with a story segment that retells how the Clockwork Army threatened civilization before being defeated, long before Lock was born. Now the "Clockworks" have returned, and Lock finds himself caught up in a tide of disaster sweeping over his quiet town. Lock finds himself worthy when tested, battling the Clockworks using only his skill as an Archineer. This trade is similar to what you'd expect from a fusion of Architect and Engineer, someone that designs and builds structures. The cool part is that what Lock creates are battlements, complete with defensive weapons and traps. Using only these defensive tools, it is up to Lock to stave off the Clockworks.

Lock's Quest does include a competitive two-player mode that will provide extended fun once the main game is beaten, but the meat of the game is in single combat. Watching the onslaught of Clockworks never fails to raise a tingle down your spine, especially when there are no opportunities to build during battle. Each battle is preceded by a Build Mode segment, where Lock can place battlements, weapons, and traps. After this segment times out or is complete, you're launched into Battle Mode. There are other, special modes that you'll discover as you unlock more of the game's content that put you into the action in different ways. The strategy for the most part is to design the strongest defense, but if that were the only thing happening, Lock's Quest would be a much flatter experience. During battles, Lock can be positioned behind walls or deep into the enemy ranks. You'll decide as a player what strategy to employ, but the game does impose some limitations. Positioning yourself outside the walls generally results in a loss due to the overwhelming number of Clockworks. Staying behind the walls allows Lock to use his skill for repairing damaged battlements and weapons, but the large number of troops against Lock will still result in him splitting time between two fronts.

The perfect strategy is always going to depend on your playing style, which is what makes Lock's Quest fun. Too many games, especially for younger players, dumb things down until the entire game feels like it runs on rails. Lock's Quest avoids this, but doesn't go far enough toward catering to more core RTS fans that would like to have options for managing resources more closely, or to RPG fans that might like to see Lock become more of a fighter or a builder during the course of the game. Where Lock's Quest was designed with fixed elements (such as basic building materials, and Lock's stats) it prompts players to be more resourceful, but it would have been interesting to see a variation on this that included options to upgrade those fixed elements in various ways that changed the feel of the game. Perhaps pegged to difficulty?

The challenge in Lock's Quest is largely preparing for battle. The proper plans and building strategy will result in a more measured battle experience, compared to a half-baked building strategy that forces you to make up for weak planning by hand-to-hand combat. There are lots of opportunities to refine your strategy, and an extensive tutorial mode that takes you through the first few hours of the game. Battles are generally short, so foul-ups in strategy are easily and quickly corrected. Watching a critical defense fail and being consumed by a legion of Clockworks is nothing if not disappointing, but Lock's Quest is all about acting, learning, and reacting. Simple and time-tested rules of battle and defense will help you construct battlements that can repel even the largest opposing force. The analogy that comes to mind is the Spartans' defense at Thermopylae, recently depicted in the movie, 300. Superior numbers are not perfect insurance against defeat, but anyone familiar with the outcome of Leonidas' struggle at Thermopylae knows it wasn't exactly a happy ending... Lock's Quest is a challenging and thoughtful game that turns what could be a very complex game mechanic into something simple to learn and bite-sized to play.

One of the reasons that more RTS games on portable gaming systems (and consoles, for that matter) have failed is that the classic model for control in a RTS title involved keyboarding and a mouse. PC gamers know and love this genre and reap the benefits of having game designers that cater to their hardware and accessories by splashing out on all the elaborate means for controlling action possible. Lock's Quest is probably the first RTS I've seen implemented this well on a portable, and certainly on the DS. Use of the touch-screen is the key, but not the entire answer to why Lock's Quest is so easy to manage. During battles, the touch-screen controls are as simple as tapping on an enemy to attack or tapping on a wall to repair. The nuance comes when you see follow-up actions like the "micro-games" involved in performing a specific sequence with the stylus to correctly repair a wall or effectively attack an enemy. These games within the game make combat less harrowing than it probably should be, or at least keep you engaged. The lack of options to freeze a location that you return to automatically, or to hot-key resources as is usually an option in the RTS world, keeps Lock's Quest shy of truly wide appeal. The hot-key would have made a huge difference in the game by allowing you to hone in on specific battlements. The actual implementation here requires a lot of scrolling around with the camera and tapping to keep Lock on the move during battles, but considering the limited number of control options available on the DS, Lock's Quest does a decent job creating functional, elegant controls.

The Build Mode controls are equally elegant, with components that you slide into place with the stylus, as they adjust themselves automatically to fit the available opening. Building blocks can be rotated in cases where you need a special layout, and there are several tabs available to select upgrade items, helpers, traps, and weapons. The timer prevents you from over-analyzing the available components, and there also aren't that many components available when Lock's story begins. Lock's Quest uses a smart resources system where you'll gather parts and "Source" used to construct new battlements and repair damaged pieces during battle. As you collect scrap from defeated Clockworks, you'll be able to build new parts that will strengthen your defenses. Defense is the magic word that defines Lock's Quest as a game. Most games are concerned with innovative battle systems, upgrading offensive capabilities for soldiers, vehicles, and weapons. Lock's Quest takes a different and refreshing approach by suggesting that the best offense is a good defense. Lock's Quest also does something great for the DS, which is introduce a strong new property that will fit nicely on any other console. Watching Drawn to Life spawn variant games, we can only hope that Lock's Quest finds its audience and a similar trajectory.