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N. America: Jan. 25, 2012 
Europe: Jan. 25, 2012 
Australia: Jan. 25, 2012 
Japan: Jan. 25, 2012 
If there's one genre in particular that has gotten a great deal of love on the App Store, it would be, in this writer's opinion, the tower-defense genre. For example, I can recall off-hand three such games that have been reviewed on this site in the last two months, roughly. Don't believe me? Just type in "tower defense" on the App Store, and you'll be treated to a long and varied list of the genre's finest and not-so finest.
If you're lucky enough to own an iPad, you have the chance to try out one of the former (finest, that is): Kingdom Rush. I have played a few TD games lately (I'm using "TD" as shorthand for "tower defense"), but Ironhide Studio's latest had me intrigued from very near the beginning with its challenge and variety.
Set in a mythical kingdom (as the title kind of implies), you are tasked with fighting back against an evil sorcerer and his hordes of various fiends and beasts. Like almost every tower defense game out there, Kingdom Rush has you laying down towers and such alongside a path (or sets of branching paths), your objective being to rain death upon the bad guys before they make it to the end of the path. Let too many get away, and you lose. Simple, really, but not always easy (I'll go into that in greater detail later in the review).
At your disposal are four types of towers: archer towers that deal little damage but make up for that with rapid-fire capabilities; barracks that produce soldiers who act as roadblocks for the waves of enemies; mage towers, whose slow but powerful blasts work well against armored foes; and artillery cannons that can cause damage to multiple monsters in one shot. Aside from your towers, you can also call upon armed peasants when you're short on soldiers, and when all else fails, you can unleash a trump-card-ish super move that rains meteors down upon your enemies' heads. Some Kingdom Rush levels even come with exclusive towers or helpers (one ice-themed level features a Sasquatch whose assistance you can call upon).
At first, I found the fact that there are only four towers to be a bit of a downer. Usually, the other TD games I've played before came with several more towers. Once I'd played Kingdom Rush for a little bit longer, that disappointment disappeared as I began to get a sense of how much variety there was to be had. Sure, there are only four types of towers, but each one can be transformed into one of two different advanced forms, once you reach a certain level. Take the barracks tower, for example. Once you level it up to level 4, you can either transform it into a Paladin castle (which produces heavily armored soldiers) or a Barbarian house (whose warriors forego personal safety in order to dish out greater damage). The same applies to the other three towers. Even then, you can invest money into special attacks that are exclusive to these advanced towers.
The variety in Kingdom Rush doesn't exclusively belong to the towers, though. There are plenty of enemies to take on in this game, and an impressive variety exists among them as well. Be ready for a wide range of beasts and scum, ranging from armored fiends, to speedy beasts, to monsters that can heal, to monsters that can spawn more monsters, to creatures that can fly over some defenses… there are a lot of enemies. I'll leave it at that.
There are about fourteen levels in Kingdom Rush for you to take on. Each level comes with three modes: the regular campaign mode, the "Heroic" mode, and the "Iron Challenge". The Heroic mode tasks you with taking on six waves of extra challenging enemies, without letting a single one escape, while the Iron Challenge throws one really long wave at you and expects you to survive, also without letting a single foe survive. Success in any of these modes yields stars, which can then be used to buy enhancements to your towers and abilities.
As a final note, another thing I really like about this game is its challenging nature. It never feels too easy (except, of course, when it's on the easy setting), but it never feels frustratingly difficult either. Every time I lost, it didn't feel like the game was being mean, but that my strategy was not sound enough. It's this, plus the sheer variety packaged within, that earns Kingdom Rush the high "88" that you probably saw at the top of the page (that's the highest score I've given to a TD game yet).
GameDynamo's Score for Kingdom Rush (Mobile)
Score |
Description |
||
| Graphics | 85 | A smoothly executed cartoony style, complete with characters, both friend and foe, that look like they could be in an animated cartoon. |
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| Sound | 81 | The music works well with this game. Sure, it may not be epic, but it matches the game perfectly. Some of the things said by the knights and warriors manning the towers can be rather amusing. |
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| Gameplay | 89 | Some of the best the genre has to offer on the App Store. The weapons at your disposal are surprisingly varied, as are the enemies you get to use them on. The difficulty level is just right, with the challenges neither feeling too easy nor ridiculously difficult. |
|
| Play Value | 86 | With about fourteen levels, you can get through the game's campaign rather quickly. The other modes should fill up your time somewhat, but all in all this is kind of a short game. That's hardly an issue though, since it's fun from beginning to end. |
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| Final Score | 88 | If you have an iPad and are in the mood for a tower-defense game, definitely give Kingdom Rush a spin. | |
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