Tower defense games seem to have become ubiquitous lately.
Defenders of Ardania adds enough new elements to freshen up the genre.
The game from Paradox Interactive and Most Wanted Entertainment offers towers for defense, but players also control a variety of offensive units to bring the battle to enemy towers and bases.
Also in the mix are some RPG elements, such as a unit's ability to level up and eventually, the unlocking of hero units.
Set in a fantasy world of monsters and magic, players will find three races: Human, Nature and the Underworld.
The Human faction includes units like the warrior, cleric, elven archer and dwarf flying machine. The Underworld offers vampires, ghosts, a lich king, zombie dragon and more. Comparable units in the Nature lineup are rats, giant bats, eagle kings and behemoths.
The variety is nice.
Each faction also has eight different types of towers, with each type having two upgrade levels.
Defenders of Ardania does come with a decent tutorial to familiarize players with the game's mechanics. However, the voice acting during these segments leaves something to be desired.
Beside constructing towers and sending out attackers, players also can cast a variety of spells.
Players also can upgrade their economy.
While my guess is that the single-player campaign will take up most players' time, Defenders of Ardania does offer online play with up to four players at once. A human opponent could prove more stimulating than battling the game's AI.
Defenders of Ardania certainly is pleasing to look at and the sound effects are good.
For those new to the genre, a tower defense game involves strategically placing defensive towers in order to wipe out enemy attackers until their supply is exhausted.
In Defenders, you also get to carry the battle to your attacker. This is a nice addition, but the genre still seems somewhat lacking in true strategic options. Launching wave after wave of attacks can get repetitive.
Defenders of Ardania delivers a nice introduction to the tower defense genre for new players, and enough new features to entice veteran players.
The game, which first launched for the iOS, now is available for the PC, through Xbox Live Arcade and for the iPad.