Kingdom Rush Frontiers HD iPad Review
PROS
- Challenging and compulsive battles.
- Stellar production values.
- As charming and engaging as its predecessor.
CONS
- Doesn't do anything drastically new with the franchise.
VERDICT
Though Kingdom Rush: Frontiers is more of a torch bearer than a trailblazer, its refreshed character roster and fiendishly clever maps will more than satisfy tower defence fans. A class act.
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Sequels can be tricky. You have to give the fans more of what they loved the first time out, while adding enough new elements to warrant a second visit. It's doubly difficult when you're following an acclaimed title like tower defence titan Kingdom Rush. Luckily for us, developer Ironhide has kept its cool and delivered another top tier instalment to artillery-oriented action. The team hasn't deviated far from the original template, but considering the quality of the original, that's not altogether a bad thing.
Like its predecessor, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers drops you into a medieval world, and tasks you with defending it against a rogue's gallery of marauders and would-be occupiers. To do this, you must erect towers of varying capabilities. There are four main types of tower: barracks, archer towers, mage towers, and dwavern bombards. At the beginning of each round, you'll need to spend your gold reserves on building a selection of these towers. Once they're built, the assault will start, after which you'll have to buy more towers - and upgrade your existing defences - using cash earned from slaying your advancing foes.
Everything that made the first game great is back in force for the second instalment. There's a gaggle of enemies both old and new, with each unit possessing its own unique abilities and visual quirks. Though you'll begin by loosing arrows at low level desert thugs, it won't be long before you're tackling more dangerous foes like Executioners and Giant Scorpions. As before, the game's arch fantasy setting and humorous pop culture references disguise the very real challenges that the game throws up. Fail to upgrade your towers wisely or forget to deploy your reinforcements, and defeat will not be far behind.
However, when coupled with the game's stellar production values, charismatic creature design, and rock solid battle mechanics, these challenges are a pleasure to face. Even when victories are snatched from you grasp at the last minute, you'll find yourself hitting the restart button and preparing yourself for another onslaught.
If there's any disappointment to be found in Kingdom Rush: Frontiers, it's that it doesn't take the franchise in any particularly noteworthy new directions. The mantra here seems to have been 'more of the same, but bigger and better'. However, when the results are this much fun, who are we to complain?
Screenshots
$1.99
