Halloween Defence Review – Smashing pumpkins is fun… for a short while
App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Blue-island
Version #: 1.0
Date Released: 2011-09-02
Developer: Blue-island
Price: 1.99
User Rating:
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With Halloween coming up, it seems appropriate to review a game that sees your protecting a house from an army of leering jack-o-lanterns. Halloween Defence is very much in the style of a tower defence game, as you control 5 strategically-placed cannons in a bid to defend your abode.
While most tower defence games give you a bird’s-eye perspective on the battlefield, Halloween Defence is played from a first-person perspective. Whether this is a wise move is debatable, as first-person games tend to feel somewhat straining and cumbersome on the small iPhone screen. Halloween Defence does suffer from this slightly, and a 15-minute game will require you to do some serious wrist-stretching exercises afterwards.
A useful feature in the game is the presence of a sky camera, which gives you a view of the whole battlefield and the movement of the pumpkins. This adds a satisfying degree of strategy to the game, and helps you get oriented in what could otherwise be a slightly confusing game.
The basic gameplay in Halloween Defence is good fun. The evil pumpkins move fairly slowly, and end up overwhelming you with numbers rather than speed. After you’ve despatched enough of the basic pumpkins, larger ones come along that are harder to kill. Smashing pumpkins in this way is fun for a while, but the lack of variety in weapons, enemies and levels does become apparent quite quickly.
There is no online functionality in Halloween Defence, and the soundtrack is limited to a repetitive beat. The basic gameplay is enjoyable but the game needs to be considerably more varied to be worth the money you pay for it.
In the game description, the developers seem aware of these shortcomings and have written than among the updates for the game is a ‘Story Mode, Double Cannons, Various monsters and Drop items.’ Hopefully these additions will fill out this enjoyable but painfully unvaried game.
Quick Take
Value:Medium.
Would I Buy Again:No.
Learning Curve:Low.
Who Is It For:Fans of tower defence games and Halloween.
What I Like:Sky map allows for a little bit of strategic gameplay.
What I Don't Like:Unvaried gameplay, music and no level variety.
Final Statement:An aesthetically pleasing but unvaried tower defence game.
defence One night under a full moon, the pumpkins growing in an abandoned graveyard come to life. The pumpkins intend to attack the village.
However, do not fear! For the protection of the village, we have already installed remote-controllable cannons here and there throughout the graveyard
Use the cannons to triumphantly smash the pumpkins to stop their raid on the village!
[Game Guide]
This game has been produced using UDK by the EPIC company.
‘Halloween Defense’ is a shooting and defense-oriented game.
Players can control a total of five cannons to repel the attacking pumpkins.
Players can also use the SkyCamera offering overhead views of the ground from the sky to verify the locations of the pumpkins.
Challenge yourself to a higher and higher score!
Players can view their highest score record in the Start Menu.
[Scheduled Updates]
- Story Mode
- Double Cannons
- Various monsters
- Drop Items
Screenshots
Article By Robert Zak
I'm an up-and-coming freelance writer (or so I like to think) specialising in film, apps and gaming. Aside from writing app reviews on what sometimes feels like a mass scale, I've also contributed work to The Independent and IGN.com, and am on the writing team of the popular Lifestyle blog, WhatCulture.com. Like what you see? Follow me on Twitter @Rob_Zed and get in touch!
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