When you look back at BLUE GNC's previous Cartoon Wars and Cartoon Wars-Gunner titles, 'Cartoon Wars 2: Heroes' seems like the obvious next step. While the combination of beat'em-up and castle defense gameplay elements don't mesh terribly well, it's an interesting way to try and break up the monotony inherent in these sorts of games.

Both the defense and beat'em-up sections will take some time to get used to and you'll need to prepare yourself for some fairly humiliating losses in order to proceed. After picking the next location to attack, players will have the option of defending against an initial wave with their hero, reducing the forces the enemy has on hand when you enter the castle defense stage. The defense portion is fairly typical for the genre, with various ground and air troops at your disposal as well as some magic to help turn the tide, though aiming your defensive cannon can be tricky as there's no aiming guide outside of firing a few arrows. Once you've made your push you can return to clean up the remaining forces with your hero, earning more cash and experience to level up your troops, fortress and your hero before continuing on.

I absolutely adore the art style despite the somewhat tired 'stick figure' visuals as the animations are smooth and the variety of enemies is absolutely stunning. What's less impressive is the need for grinding to proceed as the enemy packs rapidly advancing enemies that level up considerably faster than your own.

However, once you're on a roll 'Cartoon Wars 2: Heroes' quickly becomes a frantic and exciting game to play and if you don't mind a steep learning curve you'll be lost for hours.