It seems that the tower defense genre has been sort of played out for the last couple of years. Oh yes new games come out that add something interesting to the formula, and games come out that remind us why the genre became so popular to begin with, but it's only in the last year or so we've seen an evolutionary shift in tower defense, and what's more is that this shift is so simple, it's amazing not many developers thought of it before. I am of course talking about allowing the player to enter at ground level and fight alongside all the crazy turrets they put down.

Commando Jack kind of meets this idea halfway. You start the game by placing turrets and everything seems like normal tower defense, and by that we mean the classic setup. Towers can be placed to path enemies through the longest route to ensure maximum destruction. They can be upgraded (if you purchase said upgrade between missions), and all the classics are there, from turrets that have a slow effect to turrets that excel at destroying a particular type of enemy, like infantry or vehicles. So where does this ground level fighting come in? Well sitting back at the end of the level is good ol' Commando Jack in his own specialized war machine. With the press of a button, you shift into his viewpoint and can litter the landscape with bullets, taking down all the enemies to either aid your turrets, or to mop up when they haven't been able to fulfill their duties (and like the turrets, Commando Jack can be upgraded as well).

Each level takes place in a different part of the world, and the backdrops are indicative of the location, as well as each new level having a rather interesting setup when it comes to tower placement. There are only five levels at the moment with more on the way, but with multiple difficulties, and all the upgrades to purchase, they should keep you busy for a while.

With its classic tower defense setup however, the pitfalls of the genre are present as well, with levels having far too many waves, and taking too long to play through even with the fast forward mode on. For those TD fans who are looking for a mobile title that's a little more hands on, then Commando Jack delivers on that promise.