| Defend Your Castle | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | XGen Studios |
| Publisher(s) | XGen Studios |
| Platform(s) | Internet game, Wii (WiiWare), iOS |
| Release date(s) | Wii
April 20, 2009 |
| Genre(s) | Arcade |
| Mode(s) | Single player, co-op multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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Defend Your Castle is a Macromedia Flash-based browser game developed by XGen Studios. The game was well received and prompted XGen to release a prequel titled Pillage the Village, with similar game play.[1]
A version of the game for the Nintendo's WiiWare service was released on May 12, 2008 in North America and on August 1, 2008 in Europe and Australia. At the 2009 Game Developers Conference, XGen Studios announced that the game would soon be released for the Apple iOS.
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Defend Your Castle requires the player to kill all enemy units before they destroy the player's castle. There are various ways of accomplishing this, such as picking up enemies and throwing them into the air or attacking them with an array of weapons, which are purchased with points gained from the previous level.[2]
Archers Archers shoot arrows from the bottom-left tower of the castle, instantly eliminating any foe, although they can miss. The more archers one has in their castle, the more frequently they will shoot arrows.
Wizards Wizards allow spells to be cast by selecting the desired spell, then selecting the enemy one wishes to inflict the spell on. The more wizards one has, the more spells can be cast. (the first spell is gained with 1 wizard, the second with 35, and the third with 100) The first spell is an instant kill spell, instantly killing an enemy. The second spell is an explosion that inflicts massive damage to all units within range. The third spell allows the player to instantly convert an enemy unit to your side.
Craftsmen When the castle is damaged, craftsmen rebuild, effectively restoring health. The more there are, the faster heath will regenerate.
Demolition Lab Once purchased, the player can click on a convert at the top-right corner of the game and send out dynamite strapped converts. To detonate them, the player can simply click on it.
Temple A temple allows the player to gain converts. To do so, the player can gently drop an enemy unit into the castle. After a short period of time, the enemy becomes a convert.
The Wii version of the game is a launch title for WiiWare in North America. It costs 500 Wii Points[3] and takes up 121 blocks.
The Wii version of Defend Your Castle boasts a new graphic style, prominently featuring elements taking the form of household objects, such as bottle caps, bread ties and wooden ice cream sticks for sprites, with backgrounds made out of construction paper with clouds of tissue paper.[4] Because of rating reasons, the Wii version does not contain the use of blood; the stickmen attackers just collapse instead of splatter, although their heads remain on screen before fading, something which did not happen in the original version.
The game supports simultaneous 4-player co-operative multiplayer.
An iOS version was released on 20 April 2009 costing $1.99 (£1.20) and was temporarily lowered to $0.99 (£0.69) before returning to $1.99 (£1.20). Players touch the enemies and drag them into the air to kill them. It includes 5 different types of enemies, castle upgrades, tools and spells, unlimited levels and different difficulty modes.
The WiiWare release of Defend Your Castle has received a generally positive reception.
IGN gave the game 7.9 out of 10. They thought the game was fun and frantic, and cited it as a game with "seemingly shallow pick-up-and-play experiences [but] with hidden depth". They were not impressed with the graphics, noting in their review, that they were designed to be "intentionally bad".[2] 1UP.com gave the game a B- and found appeal in the "piecemeal aesthetic" as well as the simple gameplay, but felt that the game starts off very slow paced.[5] Nintendo Life gave the game 7 out of 10 and believed the game offered more than just a "glorified Flash game", though they believed it featured a "relatively dull" single-player mode and repetitive gameplay that may result in tired or sore arms after extended periods of play.[6]
However, GameSpot was less impressed, citing "super shallow" gameplay and also noting the possibility of the player suffering repetitive stress injuries after long periods of play. However, they did enjoy the "goofy visual aesthetic" and the potential for a fun and frantic multiplayer experience and gave it a 6 out of 10.[7]
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