Defenders of Ardania Review

Developer: Paradox Interactive
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

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This defense game is different in one major aspect: it gives players the opportunity to actually send troops out to attack the enemy. Usually in tower defense games we are left to only defend our keep from attacking foes. Ardania let’s us take the fight to the doorstep of those attacking to take them down first. Gameplay consists of the typical setting up of towers to defend oncoming attacks. Each tower employs a different weapon and some are better at defeating certain foes than others. Players must be strategic in the way they set up their defense since each level only allows for a set number of towers to be built. There are variations of the types of troops that can be deployed, each having different abilities and strengths. The game includes 15 campaign levels that increase in difficulty as players progress. It also includes three other game modes, including multiplayer. Having the additional game modes is a nice touch and creates some added value to the overall experience.

The graphics of the game are very well done. I think there is a little more detail in this game than in some other tower defense games I’ve seen. Players travel across three different worlds and each level within those worlds has different board layouts. The different worlds and boards are very clever and add some much needed variety as tower defense games can become quite monotonous.

The only thing I wish the game had was a better tutorial. During the game some text scrolls across the bottom of the screen to explain the gameplay and to explain the purpose of each type of tower and attacker. The problem is, the game is still being played when the text scrolls at the bottom so all my attention was focused on the game instead of reading the instructions. Luckily the layout is intuitive enough that it doesn’t take much time to figure out how to play.

Although the tower defense genre seems to be a little saturated, I think that Defenders of Ardania is a nice addition. The fact that it allows players to actually play some offense makes it stand apart from the rest. I would recommend it to any tower defense fan looking to pass some time. If the $4.99 price tags seems a bit much, there is a lite version available to give the game a free test drive.