Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition HD Review
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Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition HD Review

Our Review by Ray Willmott on August 13th, 2012
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: FEW TRICKS BUT SOME TREATS
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Unfortunately, hunting monsters won't pay the mortgage in these tough times, but thanks to this little title, players will get a chance to see what life would be like if it did



Developer: NuOxygen

Price: $2.99
Version: 1.07
App Reviewed On: iPhone 4S

Graphics/Sound Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
User Interface Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar


I've never had any trouble with monsters. They don't bother me, I don't bother them. It's a good working relationship. That being said, I can't say that I've actually bumped into a pyromaniacal goblin or a floating eyeball. They don't generally travel in my social circles, although that doesn't prove they don't exist.

Unfortunately for Tom, the hero of Monster Trouble, monsters are most certainly real, they're not looking to make friends, and they do not want to leave him alone. After successfully quelling a monster threat in a remote town, the inhabitants recognize Tom as a defender of the peace and ask for his help to protect bigger, more prominent cities.

In Monster Trouble, players must protect landmarks and cities from being razed to the ground by malevolent hordes of evil. Players use a variety of defense mechanisms in order to accomplish their goal, including a wood tower, barricade, stone tower and guard post. In order for the buildings to become effective, players need to purchase villagers, each with slightly different traits, to use them. However, players will need to bear in mind that buildings vary in effectiveness when standing up against the monster's gallery within the game. When planning their strategies, players have to ensure they're using the right tool for the job right from the get-go. By defeating monsters, players will earn cash to spend in the game, and this can then be used to bring in more resilient, tougher defenses to protect against the ever-charging onslaught.

The touch-screen controls in Monster Trouble work brilliantly. If players hold one finger down on the screeen, then rotate with another, the camera pans around effortlessly and gives a full panoramic view of the

environment. Players can also mark monsters for villagers to focus on, change the location of the buildings, zoom in, use potions to heal weakened soldiers and douse fires with waterbuckets to reduce the devastation.

Monster Trouble is a standard tower-defense title - that certainly doesn't mean it isn't fun, but it doesn't provide anything that players won't have seen a hundred times before. Still, the game is beautiful to behold and in addition to being one of the best looking games on the iPhone format, it runs effortlessly and without slowdown, even without hordes of minions swarming the screen.

Combined with a full campaign mode, the developers have also put together a Survival Mode, which sees players fighting waves and waves of foes until they ultimately collapse. While this is entertaining for a while, players will soon yearn for something more as the title is limited and offers very little benefit or reward.

Monster Hunter Anniversary Edition isn't a bad game, but because it borrows so heavily from well-established licenses, unfortunately, it doesn't stand out. If you're a tower-strategy fiend, this is a cool addition to your collection, but it won't produce many memorable moments, nor push boundaries in this altogether familiar genre.

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition screenshot 6 Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition screenshot 7 Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition screenshot 8 Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition screenshot 9 Monster Trouble Anniversary Edition screenshot 10
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