The genre of tower defense has been fairly represented on iOS over the past several years, with notable entries like Fieldrunners and Kingdom Rush turning in fantastic examples of fixed and variable path classic tower defense gameplay.
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPad
Price: $1.99
iPad-only RoboMouse HD, then, is a new, well-balanced entry to the genre, and while it brings nothing innovative to the table, it’s adorable and provides a solid set of features that make it an essential entry to any tower defense fan’s gaming library.
If you’ve played a fixed-path tower defense game in the last few years, RoboMouse HD will feel instantly familiar. Enemies that run the gamut from fast and weak to slow and tough will travel along a set path, one per map, in waves hell-bent on getting to your base. You’re allowed 20 of these incursions or it’s game over.
A game like this is made or broken on its mechanics and balance, and RoboMouse HD is well balanced.
Your defenses consist of the typical upgradeable towers, including fast, cheap machine guns, slowing towers, and varying types of more powerful and slower shooting weaponry. You also get a couple of special abilities to slow down or obliterate entire lines of creeps when your towers can’t quite keep up with the onslaught, though these extra bits take their sweet time recharging.
While the towers look more like pandas than mice to my eye, they’re adorably cute, as is all the artwork within the game. The musical soundtrack is ultimately forgettable, but is fun enough to leave on in the background. You’ll only be able to get to the next map by completing the full number of enemy waves per map, so strategy is key.
And that’s where RoboMouse HD gets things right. A game like this is made or broken on its mechanics and balance, and RoboMouse HD is well balanced. It’s just hard enough to force you to pay attention and think strategically without being so obtusely difficult that you stop playing. I found myself getting into a nice flow state early on and continuing well past the time I’d played enough of the game to write a good review. That’s the mark of a delightful tower defense game, in my experience.
 Game Name: RoboMouse HDThe Good: Well-balanced gameplay matched with equally adorable visuals and music. The Bad: Not a whole lot new, here, but that’s really ok. The Verdict If you’re a fan of the tower defense genre, you’ll want to check out this solid, cute little game. Buy from: App Store |
  
