Category: Opinion »

Whilst tower defences can be very fun to play, in an era of boundless technological advances and a lot of big action games dominating the market, they can sometimes feel a bit slow, a bit too static. Set in their ways. But with the recent release of Defense Derby, Krafton has taken this genre and injected it with a heavy kick of pace.

Go head-to-head-to-head with three other players

One of the first things you will notice as you start a round is that you are no longer just playing against a computer. There are three other players on their phones too, and you are all competing to be the last surviving castle in the face of some pretty unrelenting monster invasions.

Ever since the launch of Clash of Clans, tower defence has become absolutely synonymous with mobile gaming, yet it's very rare that you’ll see a TD game topping the app store charts. Of course, there are many reasons why this is the case, but for us one of the more significant reasons is that very few games have attempted to push the genre forward. Afterall, why play something new if it simply repeats the same formula?

Thankfully, this is definitely not the case with Krafton’s recently released tower defence title, Defense Derby, which revitalises the genre with its innovative scouting and bidding system and huge variety of PvP and PvE modes.

If you caught our recent coverage of Defense Derby, you’ll know that we’re pretty high on the game right now. So here are 3 reasons why you should be too.

Since its official release, I've had a hard time putting down *Omega Strikers. I'm still very much as high on it as I was when I posted my glowing review, and now there's even more reason for me to play it. This week the game saw its first significant update, which added new characters, a new map, and some other little tweaks to make this already great game even better.

You can check out footage of my time inspecting and trying out the game's new characters (and going through the shop to purchase all the new skins, emotes, etc.) in the video above, and you can read on for some additional impressions and an overall evaluation of the update.

I always get excited to see how certain developers push the envelope when it comes to gaming on iOS. As a result, it should come as no surprise that I was eager to get my hands on War Mongrels from Destructive Creations. This version is a straight port of the PC and console title, and--although it may not be a technical marvel on those platforms--bringing it over in an essentially unchanged state kind of is.

The game came out three weeks ago and I immediately got a code for it, but the hold up on posting impressions was due to the fact that this mobile version had some significant issues running on the devices it says it is compatible on the App Store. And by significant I mean that when trying to play the game on my 3rd generation iPad Pro the game wouldn't even boot to the menu. The only thing I could do was view the production logos before the game hard crashed out to my home screen.

I have a lot of mixed feelings with my time with Vendir: Plague of Lies. It's an experience that in some moments are incredible in their ambition and execution and in others is sloggy and irritating. Most of the highest points of the game I've encountered without having to engage with the game's free-to-play monetization model, but I have also run up against its pinch points that push players to pay and they feel horrible.

With all of that in mind, it feels kind of impossible to assign a score to it. It is goodbad and badgood. You should play it but also not. Or maybe watch someone play it. Or maybe just play the dialog quests in the starting area and quit as soon as you have to fight something. I don't really know. I am still intrigued to keep playing it but every time I do I almost always end up quitting out of frustration once I encounter a random battle with enemies that would seem defeatable if I fed the game a considerable amount of money that I don't think it deserves.

Have you ever been granted a boon by the benevolent Visnu, or aided in the midst of combat by the mighty Ra? How about accepting the gracious assistance of Baldr as you fight to ward off hordes of enemies at the gate? EF Defense not only challenges your tower defence skills but also engages you with unique maps that are anything but static - these mighty Guardians will lend a hand when needed across colourful stages and with over 70 Heroes.

The tower defence genre might be familiar to most players, but what else can you expect to dive into with Ekkorr's new game?

Unique unit types and guardians

As you step into the game, you'll encounter more than 8 maps with dynamic elements that are key to your defence. You'll deploy warriors to keep invading enemies at bay across six tribes, and each one has its own unique playstyle. In particular, Heroes from the Human, Elf, Orc, Undead, Angel and Demon tribes will also have various weapons, armour and accessories you can equip to boost your combat power, with over 200 kinds of equipment to discover.

Of course, you will also have legendary gods (12 Guardians) that can support you during battles, each with its own set of mighty skills that can buff your warriors or wipe out enemies in a single blow.

It's no secret that Apple Arcade hasn't exactly lived up to its potential. The initial promise of Apple providing a subscription service for less engagement-focused, high quality titles was only partially realized at its launch, and since then has been officially tossed aside in favor of pursuing the exact opposite.

As Arcade has been languishing, some other subscription services have been trying to establish their own foothold on the App Store, and perhaps the most attention-grabbing of these services has been Netflix. With any level of Netflix's streaming tiers, users also gain access to a mobile game library that so far includes breakout surprise hit Poinpy and modern classic Into the Breach.

Between Netflix's recent moves in securing hot titles for its service and Apple announcing recently that certain titles on Arcade are disappearing, I figured it was high time to compare the services directly as a handy way for you to decide which--if any--mobile game subscription service might be worth subscribing to.

Turning your iOS device into a gaming powerhouse has never been easier. With the hardware running in today's phones and tablets, plus software that takes full advantage of it or otherwise can stream powerful games straight to your mobile screen, you can basically play anything you want anywhere you want with something you carry around with you in your pocket no matter where you're going.

The only problem with this has always been how you control these games that you have such easy access to. More complex and demanding games can struggle on touch screens, and--although they're something you can get used to--they can have a hard time replicating the satisfying feel of plopping down in front of a PC or console with a dedicated controller in hand. For years, Gamevice has been at the forefront of trying to solve this problem for folks who want to turn their iOS devices into dedicated gaming devices, and their latest controller (with companion app) is one of the best ways to do exactly that.

Diablo Immortal came out last week, and I've gone ahead and committed to playing a bunch of it to put out a review after going in-depth on such a meaty release. While I still plan to do exactly that, I've hit a bit of an unexpected snag along the way. From the outside working my way in, I was fully expecting for its lavish production values and loot lust to draw me closer and closer toward a seductive paywall. To my surprise, that hasn't happened, and even more surprising are the reasons why.

I've put quite a few hours into Diablo Immortal's story and other side quests so far and haven't really felt a hint of need explore any of its monetized aspects. In theory, this is good news, as everyone's speculation heading into the game's release would be that it would be some horribly monetized bastardization of Diablo (which it is obviously not). In practice, though, I'm having a hard time mustering much enthusiasm or curiousity about just about anything Diablo Immortal has to offer, regardless of quality.

Star Wars Day is coming, and if you want to celebrate appropriately, don’t shout or tweet “May the fourth be with you.” Play some Star Wars games instead. Trust me, everyone will be better served this way.

If you prefer your Star Wars gaming on the go, unfortunately, the pool of “actually good” Star Wars games is pretty slim. But, with this list of the best Star Wars games on the App Store, you can’t go wrong. Check out our picks below:

The latest entry in the mega-popular monster collecting and battling series is here in the form of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. In an effort to nakedly capitalize on everyone searching for “games like Pokémon” to recommend some great mobile games, here we are with a list of games fit that exact criteria.

Whether you want just another way to play with the same pocket monsters you know and love, or want something that just takes the underlying features of collecting and battling to different places, this list has you covered with rock solid titles along with reviews to inform your choice.

Genshin Impact is a phenomenal game. I gave it a glowing review, wrote extensive early guides on it, and it snagged this site's game of the year award for 2020. Since I first started playing a year ago, I don't think I've gone a single day without logging in and enjoying myself, and I've been able to do so without paying any money whatsoever.

As of this writing, though, the community as a whole is not satisfied with the game. Much of this has come to a head around the game's anniversary. It is common for gacha games like Genshin Impact to celebrate anniversaries and other milestones by giving out rewards to players or holding special events. The only problem is Genshin Impact isn't doing that. Aside from a few community contests and other, largely promotional, marketing events, miHoYo basically hasn't said they are doing anything to commemorate the 1st anniversary of what is far and away the most successful (read: profitable) game they've ever released.

Back in February of 2021, Genshin Impact added an event called Theater Mechanicus as part of its big Lantern Rite festivities. This mode was a sort of tower defense game that challenged players to build death traps of elemental towers against waves and waves of Hilichurls, Ruin Guards, Abyss Mages, and other common Genshin Impact foes.

The major twist with the event was that your character's power completely didn't matter. Whether you were a whale with a full bench of maxed out, S-tier, five-star adventurers or a free player with nothing of the sort, Theater Mechanics was an accessible, challenging, and super-satisfying event to take on in single-player or co-op. The only bummer about the whole thing was that Theater Mechanicus was a time-limited event and it disappeared after just a couple of weeks.

I've been playing Luca Redwood's latest release, Infinity Island, for almost a week now, and I'm a little perplexed. The mind behind innovative, premium titles like 10000000 and Photographs put out an idle game fueled by ads and in-app purchases that is remarkable mostly by how pedestrian it is.

In it, you collect little pets on a cartoonish desert island by launching a hook out to sea to retrieve boxes of loot. These pets produce currency automatically that you can use to purchase various upgrades, almost all of which serve to help you produce currency faster. At various points throughout the game, you can also opt to watch ads to double your rewards or make in app purchases to accelerate your progress. If you ever reach a state where progression seems to plateau, the game offers to reset (or "Infinity") your island and allow you to spend some other currency to accelerate your progression rate on the new island.

Fortnite has been the big hitter in mobile gaming this year, and it's not hard to see why. Thanks to some excellent marketing, and a polished experience that almost anyone can enjoy, it's really taken the App Store by storm.

But there are other battle royale experiences out there if you want to try something different. Some of them are terrible though, so we thought it'd be a good idea to round up what we think are the very best games like Fortnite for iPhone.

We've included links that will let you download the games as well, we're good like that. If you think we've got our suggestions wrong, then feel free to add your own in the comments at the bottom of the article. And don't forget to check out all the other lists on the site by clicking here. Now, without further ado, let's get on with the choices.