Portable tower defense? About time!
All the same features, game modes, challenges, and addictive play as the flash app. Ability to draw your own versions of guns and creeps. Bargain pricetag.
The Bad:
Slightly smaller play field. Minor control issues. Very little new or different from the web version.
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For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last few years, just google "desktop tower defense" and try it out. You will pretty much be playing the same game as what you'll get in the DS version. While there are a few minor additions (the ability to draw your own versions of each creep, and each gun...which opens up a whole new world of entertainment possibilities), the bulk of this game is exactly like the web version. The only minor gripe I have is that to place a gun requires two clicks (one to position the cursor, the other to click the 'buy' button), which makes things a little more difficult to do, but this is not a deal breaker.
Here's a quick summary of the same and different features from the original:
The Same Stuff:
-gameplay
-creep types
-gun types
-upgrading
-difficulty settings
-challenges and 'fun' modes (ALL of them, exactly like the online...you want to try the $10K gold, survivor, or the 100? they are all here.)
-sound...its exactly the same sound effects as the web app
Different/New stuff:
-ability to draw the monsters and guns differently...my freezer is now a big snowflake, for example
-selections of cheesy background music that you can turn on or off at will
-ability to save a map mid game and come back later to continue
-trophies to be earned, like "kill 10,000 creeps", "kill 10 creeps in 2 seconds", etc.
-hints and tips section to give newcomers helpful strategies such as juggling
Get the idea? If you wanted desktop tower defense to be portable tower defense, this is it: a port faithful to the original, right down to the prices for everything, indicative of how refined the original is.
If, however, you've played the web version to death, and were hoping this would take the series to new levels, you might want to give it a pass, since it is virtually exactly the same game. Then again, it is probably worth it to get, just to have the best tower defense game out there to take with you anywhere.