Army of Darkness Defense Review
PROS
- Relatively easy to pick up and play; handy in-line tutorial.
- Lots of unlockable units and abilities spread throughout the levels.
- Fun cartoonish style; matches the schlocky horror of the original film.
CONS
- Lop-sided difficulty curve; vertical difficulty jump at the end with no effective way to farm gold to get over the hump.
- Some audio clips used a little too often/without reason.
VERDICT
If you're one of the many people who enjoy the movie and you're after a fun defense title, there's no reason not to give Army of Darkness Defense a spin; unfortunately it suffers from many of the problems of the genre - notably the need to grind it out to finish the game.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Army of Darkness was, even in my early years, a cult-classic and with such a following it's hard not to step on some toes when approaching the franchise for a video game conversion. Instead of trying to create something grandiose and overly-complex, Backflip Studios sticks to what it does best - that is to say, a game that's focused with a limited scope while still being enjoyable enough to keep coming back for more.
There are no surprises for guessing what kind of game Army of Darkness Defense is, but for those uninitiated this title places you in the role of Ash (a haunted man thrown in to the Dark Ages) as he tries to defend the castle from an invading horde of Deadites. Ash not only has his shotgun and chainsaw to call on, but various on-demand skills are also available along with troops that are summonable after stockpiling enough metal. Enemies can leave behind additional metal or gold for upgrading units and skills between levels, though this often places Ash at risk of dying as later levels pile on the damage quickly.
Getting your way through the 50 currently available levels isn't terribly difficult - that is until you hit a significant vertical wall at level 45. While many tactics can get you through to this point, players are left with the sad task of either grinding out more cash before dying or using an IAP to buy gold to polish off a few upgrades.
This dampens an otherwise highly entertaining castle-defense title as quotes from the movie are coughed up liberally (and with surprising variety), while the cartoonish art style actually manages to compliment the game nicely as knights and undead creatures clash while special effects fly around them all. If you have the patience to push through the final levels you'll be rewarded with an endless mode, giving some replay value, but simply getting over that hump is reward enough.
If you love Army of Darkness there's no reason not to grab this gem. The casual simplicity of this defense title makes it fun for almost any gamer, just don't say I didn't warn you about the last levels.
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