Price: $2.99 Score: 8/10 Category: Games
In a market already flooded with tower defense games, iBomber Defense from Chillingo manages to feel fresh and interesting.
Set in World War II, the object is to defend your base as the enemy attacks from land, sea, and air. To do this, you’ll set up turrets, cannons, anti-air weaponry, and more to keep the Axis forces at bay. Through its streamlined gameplay and variety of battlefields, iBomber Defense is great a great pick-up-and-play title that may also cause players to come down with the “just one more round” syndrome.
iBomber Defense does a great job of easing players into the action. At first, the enemies attack from just one road, making a B-line to your base. You’re given a machine gun turret, a canon, and a brief explanation of how the game flows. As you continue on, additional challenges slowly pile on and abilities are added. Soon, enemy forces will be coming from all directions and you’ll be forced to use your tactical wits when deciding where to place your defenses. Destroying enemies earns you currency, so you’ll need to prioritize your spending. Should you upgrade an existing turret, or strategically place a new one? Does your anti-air defense need to be bulked up, or should you add a communications radar to increase the efficiency of your current forces? The further into the game, the more these simple choices could make or break your campaign.
As the action ramps up, it’s easy to get distracted. But iBomber Defense gives you the ability to pinch and zoom out, allowing you to see the entire battlefield and all the routes where enemy troupes can potentially break through. This is also a nice feature if you’d like to see the damage your front line is taking while adding forces to the rear.
For those moments when you feel as though you’re heavily-fortified and don’t need to waste time watching the enemy attack, there’s a fast-forward button that zooms the action ahead. Fortunately, if you zoom too far or make a mistake, there’s also a rewind button that takes you to the beginning of the last wave of attacks.
In the audio department, iBomber Defense doesn’t offer much other than the sounds of your turrets shelling the enemies, or explosions when you take down an opposing battle ship. But if you’re looking for some mood music, simply open up the option menu at any time and create a playlist from your iPod. I recommend “The Marines’ Hymn (The Halls of Montezuma)” or the theme from “The Bridge Over the River Kwai”.
Bottom Line: iBomber Defense is one of those “easy-to-play, difficult-to-master” titles that manages to feel fresh in an overcrowded genre. At $3, it feels a bit overpriced, but it’s hard to complain about a couple dollars when the game is this enjoyable.
iBomber Defense is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later.