The tower defense and castle defense genres are quite popular on iOS. Touch devices work perfectly for that type of game and, as a result, it’s hard for a new defense game to distinguish itself from the others. Battles and Castles has just been released and seems to have some interesting features that sets it apart.

The game seems to combine elements of traditional tower/castle defense games with building elements (that have become recently popular with games like Minecraft) and RPG elements. Users actually build their castles before defending them and then recruit units, find treasure, and explore mines. It seems to have elements that fans of nearly any genre can enjoy: strategy, simulation, action, and role-playing. The game has over 20 units and 20 buildings, three levels of technology, two campaign modes, multiplayer vs AI, local multiplayer on the device itself, and Game Center support.

Battles and Castles is a universal app and is available for $2.99.

$2.99

Battles And Castles

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-06-28 :: Category: Games

I’m obviously excited about Legendary Heroes. It’s got me all in a tizzy, so to speak. But why is it so noteworthy? Read on for a better explanation than “it’s looking freaking awesome!”

First of all, it does indeed look awesome. It’s another iOS strategy game, which tend to fit the platform quite well. It features some pretty impressive-looking graphics. It takes the typical 2D castle defense genre and adds a third dimension, so there will be multiple paths to take in order to reach the enemy’s tower. Lots of power-ups can be used to bolster the team’s stats. And then there are the heroes.

Eight different heroes, each with their own abilities. Smaller units are still around, but it’s the direct control of the hero unit that really sets Legendary Heroes apart. Plus it sort of fits with the name. Anyway, it’s looking like an iOS mash-up of castle defense strategies, the fodder-pounding available in games like Dynasty Warriors and the inclusion of unique player-controlled hero classes that has been all the rage lately thanks to League of Legends.

Really now, how could someone not get excited about that combination? Oh but don’t just take my word for it. There’s a cleverly placed trailer sitting down there that should close the deal. Legendary Heroes will be out sometime in early 2012 and will be free-to-play.

Gamers on the iOS platform have seen their share of tower and castle defense games of late, but Clueless Ideas wants them to try just one more – Magic Defenders.

Set in a fantasy realm with hand-drawn art, Magic Defenders features fluid character animations, unique spell animations, three different game modes, leveling up elements, acheivements, Open Feint integration, and a plan to continually add new heroes as time goes on. The story is simple: the Orcs have overtaken the village the hero lives in, and are on their way to the castle. Only the Hero can stop them with his unique abilities and powers.

The video alone is worth a look:

$0.99

Magic Defenders

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-08-17 :: Category: Games

Still not sure this is their thing, skeptical and money conscious gamers can try their hand at a Lite version of Magic Defenders, for the amazing low price of free. The Lite version has ten waves of Orcs to defeat with one hero and one map – sure enough to give anyone a good sense of whether the game is interesting enough to drop $2 on, right?

FREE!

Magic Defenders Lite

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-08-29 :: Category: Games

Today Gamedoctors announced that it is developing an update for its popular ZombieSmash! and ZombieSmash! HD apps. The title of the update is Camp Nowhere, and it will be available on the App Store this April.

Camp Nowhere doubles the content of the original game. The update includes a second full-length campaign mode with 30 new days to survive. Furthermore, the studio has added a number of new zombie types, including dynamite-strapped zombies that explode, strong zombies and a towering boss to defeat.

The update also features new visual effects, such as fireworks that launch zombies into the air and head inflation effects that balloon zombie heads until they explode. The developer has also implemented parallax scrolling effects, which add depth to the game’s graphics.

Camp Nowhere also brings Twitter connectivity to the experience, allowing you to “share your best smashes with the world,” according to the developer.

“Although Camp Nowhere is technically an update to ZombieSmash!, calling it one doesn’t really capture the scale of the new content… we prefer to think of it as a completely free sequel which we’ve put months of work into, ” said Dr. Matthias Höchsmann, co-founder of Gamedoctors. “Our fans have been incredibly supportive over the past year, and this is our way of saying ‘thank you.’ Can’t wait to see what you all think of the new campaign!”

The original ZombieSmash! debuted on the iTunes App Store last year to much acclaim. We reviewed it and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The goal of the game is to defend your house from an onslaught of the walking dead by flicking zombies and strategically using special weapons, such as pistols, landmines and wrecking balls to take out zombies. The game features what its developer calls a “splatter engine,” so as you maim zombies you’ll see their limbs and blood fly into the air. Despite the gore, the cartoon visuals keep things lighthearted – well as lighthearted as things can be when there are guts everywhere.

Look for Camp Nowhere on the App Store this April, and check out a collection of screenshots from the update below.