Castle Specs: The Review Of Defending Looks short? Yes - Looks crappy? Yes But its addicting and a great 4
I had heard that X-Gen studios were making a game for WiiWare and I was so anxious to see what game it was. The day WiiWare was released U checked and found out that it was Defend Your Castle, a long loved online flash game. I normally don't buy games that I haven't played yet but right away I got it. I had played the one on X-Gen Studios site many times and played so much. It may look bad but once you play it, it really appears as a good game. If you are a big fan of the online version you should really try this one.
Graphics 7.5/10
There's a major improvement from the online version but if you just watch a simple trailer or video it won't look as charming as it is in play. It may just look like a 7 year old's messy cut and paste artwork with construction paper and pencil but it gives a appeal that really fits the game. If the graphics and game were truly bad then I don't think I would be reviewing this and Nintendo wouldn't have licensed it.
Gameplay 8.5/10
You may just think "Wow all you do is flick the little people and keep on doing it over again," but there's much more to the game than you think. Your wii pointer now is a bread clip and you pick up the pencil drawn stick men and flick them as hard as you can and watch them scramble and struggle as they try to survive. Simple eh? No! There's way more to the gameplay than that, you don't just flick to kill the stick people anyways, you can cast spells to kill them, convert them to help you for your cause and appoint them to different positions and you also have to kill other enemy differently. There are giants also known as pop bottle cap sticks, suiciders that are stickmen with explosive that look like cap-gun ammo and later at level 40 very powerful catapults. Once you get better and better the large wave you see on the title screen looks like a sinch but before it looks impossible. The more you play and the farther in levels you get the better you will get and you can really impress people it gets so hard. In this edition you can also tell how far you are in each level. There is a sun that sets every level and is basically a timer, starts above the screen, eventually comes down onto it and leaves and the background gets dark. Alot of people will notice this but the higher level you are the slower the sun moves.
The controls are basic, just click, flick and pick. You have to face wave after wave of giants, suiciders until you finally prevail. A new way to do spells is a very easy and unique way, you use the control pad to use them, each direction it a different spell and they are very useful as you get more mages. Mages our one of the 4 units you can make. Mages, Stone Masons, Dynamite men and Archers. Stone masons are extremely useful later in the game, they automatically rebuild your castle to help you make it to the very end after you got to really low Castle HP. Archers are probably the first unit you'll get. They just shoot once and awhile and kill stickmen, as simple as that. Mages help you cast spells, the more that are the faster you'll be able to cast spells and more spells you'll have. Last but not least Dynamite men, just the same as suicide stickmen but for justice's need for those times when you have hundreds of peasants complaining on your front step. One of the most basic yet important things is the pit of conversion. A simple paint bucket with blue paint smuthered on the rim but the main thing to saving your domain, you instead of flicking stickmen pick them up and drop them over this bucket and after awhile they will appear as the stickmen icons below the Castle HP bar and you can assign them to positions. Probably a game with less than you expected like a variety of weapons from Halo 3 or really good graphics like GTA 4 but it's funny, simple, cheap and very entertaining. In fact it's only 5$ and its always in stock as long as you have Wi-Fi connection on your wii.
Multiplayer 8.5/10
If you thought this game was good enough then you thought wrong and if you still think this game is bad just wait. Wait until you have a group of friends over with their wii remote is when the real fun comes in. When you have 4 players the game becomes much more intense and exciting so make sure you start at level 1 if you have a new player around. When you have more people playing you have more peasants complaining and there's more, the sun A.K.A. the timer moves even slower. This game just has that thing that makes you get really co-operative with your friends and have lots of fun.
Cons and Pros
Pros
-Simple but funny
-Fantastic gameplay
-Only 5$
-Great Multiplayer
Cons
-Online version double click is much better
-Hurts the wrist alot after playing awhile
Tip: Take a break often after playing a bit, because nothing has limitations
Overview
This game you will just want to keep playing and trying to get better and as far as you can. It will entertain you so much and you will have made quite a wise buy. Before you buy Defend Your Castle you should try it online on the X-Gen Studios site to see if you really like it. It is definitely better to play with some friends than alone.
So I hope you like my review and really consider getting Defend Your Castle. See you on the battlefield sticks.