Chrome Game Review: Kingdom Rush

This may not be the best way to start a review on a Tower Defense game, but I freakin' hate Tower Defense games. I put TDs in a category called "not real" games, in that sort of snobbish, elitist disdain that a film buff might have for your average Action flick. They're casual, the bastards of social games, not the grandiose epics we Hardcore Gamers crave. They're pretty much the same mechanic copy/pasted to every game, with the sprites changing to fit the setting, but no real attempt to be unique or innovative is made. They're the kind of cheaply made game that clogs Androids and iPhones so developers can make a quick couple of cents off the ads. Also, let's not forget that this whole scheme is nearly a decade old, I remember playing lame-ass TDs on Newgrounds and JibJab, and not alot has changed.

Yet as I am typing this I am willed with an awe-inspiring feeling of befuddlement, because I love Kingdom Rush for the very fact that is counters every gripe I listed above with a new, fresh, innovative take on the classic scheme, while at the same time being a quintessential example of a Tower Defense game. I generally like to be befuddled, it's a good feeling, especially when it's about a game I can properly obsess about.

Facts:

This game comes to us by way of the Chrome Web Store, however, it's hosted in like a billion difference places across the web. In fact, the app actually takes you to another flash games site, which is just pointless in my opinion, this app is a glorified bookmark. This is what bugs me about Chrome Apps, most are just straight rips from the website, I was hoping we'd actually get some APPS, you know, mini-programs that can give you an improved experience over the website. Oh well, it's got the potential and I'm patient.

Kingdom Rush comes to us courtesy of Ironhide Game Studio. Let's get critical!

Gameplay:

The bedrock of every game, the bones, the bricks and morter, the roots, the firmament, etc. The great question that defines our medium, does this game play? Very much, sir.

If you've ever played a Tower Defense game, you know the drill. There's a winding path across the screen where various baddies will shlep on threw. If they get to the end, they sack your tower, steal your gold, fondle your wife and daughters, etc. You lose. Your job is to build defenses all along that path and kill those blasted invaders before they get to your goodies. To build more towers to defend, you need to kill dudes and collect gold or it's equivalent to buy them, creating the unique balance of gameplay. This method has been the tried and true mechanic for TDs with little diversion.

Kingdom Rush, however, goes way way beyond that. In KR, you have multiple types of towers to build that  offer different benefits against specific bad guys. Simple right, it's like a matching game.  Well as they start introducing more bad guys, you find that one tower may not be enough for a certain type of monster, you may need one to break it's defense and another to kill it. Than, you start seeing enimes giving power buffs to others and the game changes again. KR really shines in that every tower placed on stage has to be carefully chosen; you need soldiers to create chock points, you need archers and magic to take out flyers, you need armor breakers to gang up on heavies, etc. With all this RTSing, especially in those moments when hordes of heavies stomping towards to, it creates a frantic rush (get it) to put up a defence. No worries, though, you're main job will be to upgrade your defense, and there are a lot of upgrades to make to your towers, including divergent tech trees in the ultimate upgrades. There a plenty of moments where the entire battle hinged on choosing the right upgrade at the right moment, unleashing a powerful attack to exploit a weakness.

In my opinion, this game is both simple enough to get your balance quick, but complex enough to have to constantly sharpen your tactics to handle the massive, massive plethora of bad dudes. Not to mention the Boss fights, nuts, simply nuts. I had a lot of fun

Art:

This game looks good, just plain good. The sprites are that good old medieval style, with a distinctive chibi/cartoon style. Though simple, they are still intricate enough to have a wide array of movements, actions, gestures, etc. I don't know how they knew with would work, but there was never a moment I lost sight of a big guy, never a moment that I was confused between my troops and theirs, and even when the screen was literal covered in bad dudes, I could still maintain control of what was going on and what threat I had to deal with next. This is a well drawn game.

Story:

Beleive it or not, the story telling wasn't bad, and here's why, they didn't do anything stupid. It's a simple tail of a kingdom getting attacked by an evil menace. All the various units were standard fantasy fare, so you didn't need to ask too many questions.

It remined me a lot Warcraft 2's story telling, remember that? A simple, elequently written page of text about the dire straights you're in and what must be done. KR apes this well so that every stage was a plot point in the overall arc. Also like Warcraft 2, it provides a map as a context for what you're fighting for, a nice tough. It's a minor part of the game, but I'm glad to Ironhide put some effort into it anyway, because that's what turns a good game into a great game.

I'm not going to give this a number or a letter or thumb in a particular direction because that's stupid, I'm not into rating games, I prefer to praise them or slam them in my own words, because there's really now adequate system for judging the value of a piece of creative work. I liked this game alot, I started playing it at 6 at night and then looked up later to find it was 6 in the morning. There's your number, I gave it 12 hours of my life. Download it, it's lotsa fun. Peace.