Tower Raiders 2 GOLD ($4.99, App Store Link) by Gianormous Games is a solid follow-up to one of the more in-depth and hardcore defense games on the App Store. The first Tower Raiders set the standard of how a defense game should play and feel, and the sequel does not disappoint.
Gameplay
Your goal in Tower Raiders 2 GOLD is to defend the rare earth crystals you’re charged of protecting from the raiders. This may sound simple, but by no means is it a walk in the park. This game requires you to think and plan out a strategy as the gameplay is happening. Not only do you need to plan out where to place towers or weapons on the map, but you have to strategize and choose which tower and upgrade you want to place on a specific area. For instance, you might not want the cannon at the beginning of the stage because if there is more than one enemy arriving on the map at a time, the cannon won’t kill off all the enemies.
It only kills off one enemy at a time. Instead you would choose something like the gun, which you have to start off with anyway until you build up enough resources to purchase, then eventually upgrade weapons. There are benefits and drawbacks of each tower, which plays well into the gameplay. If you decide to use resources on a specific tower and you place it on a certain part of the map, it might not be too effective no matter how much the tower is upgraded. Tower Raiders 2 feature 24 challenging levels.
This is a difficult game, so the average gamer isn’t just going to run through all the levels. There’s a big difference in difficulty as you get to the last few levels. It’s a difficult game that will take a lot of time to master, but it’s well worth it. Gianormous Games has really hit a home run with the gameplay.
I would have liked the ability to move towers and weapons around the map. I know it’s something you don’t see often in a tower defense game, but if someone is more novice, it might help them out more. You can recycle towers, which in turn gets you more resources. The most I’ve earned from recycling one tower was 20 resources, and that’s when that resource is upgraded all the way. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the end it does help. The pace of the game is slow enough to make precise decisions, but fast enough to keep your attention. Tower Raiders 2 does have a fast forward feature if you want a more fast paced experience.
Graphics
Since Tower Raiders 2 has an overhead view, there isn’t much as far as graphics go to awe over. The maps and textures look just fine. I think the overall look and feel they’re going for is something more traditional that everyone’s used to, especially since it’s an overhead view. They’re not the best in my opinion. All the towers and weapons seem to lack any detail. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which tower is which unless it’s active and fighting off enemies or you tap it to bring up its options. If they had some sort of HD version, I would defiantly go for that without hesitation. Nonetheless, I would say this was a good direction that the developers decided to go in. It’s just a change of pace from anything too over the top.
Conclusion
Tower Raiders 2 GOLD is a solid strategy defense game that will keep you glued and wanting to come back for more. With 24 unique levels and a good amount of towers and upgrades to choose from, Tower Raiders 2 sets the bar for what a strategy game should be. Another good thing about Tower Raiders 2 is that it does feature a tutorial, but it’s in-game, so you’re playing and at the same time, learning how to strategize which doesn’t even make it seem like a tutorial to be honest. Other than the graphics not being too up to par with other strategy games, that doesn’t hurt the fact that Tower Raiders 2 GOLD is one of the top in its genre.
Price: ($4.99, App Store Link)
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