Andromeda Resistance Review

Andromeda Resistance isn't the first missile defense app to appear in the app store, but it does offer a bit more than your average bear. While some of the other similar apps might add a faster pace or some slick graphics, Andromeda Resistance (AR) adds a whole slew of weapon options, adding a bit of tower defense fun into the mix.

As you would expect, each level is a static map with a cityscape below and missiles raining down on the city coming from above. There are no towers to protect or rocket pods to worry about, just the city to defend. Defending in the city is as easy as tapping on the screen to fire your weapon, ideally tapping where the missile is so you can destroy it (some may be hand-eye coordination challenged… if this is you, AR will be VERY difficult). The game does take a bit of strategy though because individual missiles have different hit points, different launch patterns, and different speeds.

As you progress through the game you get a slew of weapons to protect your city to the fullest, each with different characteristics and energy requirements. To prevent you from just using the most powerful weapons all the time or just randomly tapping all over the screen machine gun style, the game gives you an energy meter. The primary weapon is a touch to kill style weapon that takes very little energy per shot, while later on you get a nuclear bomb looking weapon that damages everything on the screen and saps almost all of your energy.

Each level ends after an undetermined amount of missiles get destroyed, and then the points get added up. This is where the game gets interesting. With your points, you can buy upgrades to your weapons to make them blow up bigger, do more damage, and take less energy to fire. It's amazing how much more interesting a simple missile defense style gets with some upgrades and different weapons.

There are two things that the game should really improve upon if it is going move into the top tier of games. The first, and probably the most important is the graphics. There is nothing wrong with the graphics really… they are functional and fast, but they don't look as nice as a high quality game should. I'd be happy with some enhanced explosions and some better looking city backgrounds.

My other issue is the balance of the weapons. I spent way too long using the first gun when I should've wanted to upgrade into using other, newer guns to continue my quest. I really want to feel like all of my new guns are better than the gun before it, but that's just not the case. By the 12th mission or so, things started to seem a bit repetitive because I was using the same weapon as level one and basically using the same strategy. The game picks up later on, but the buildup takes far too long.

Otherwise, AR is a nice game. It'll provide a few hours of gameplay and does enough different from others in the genre to make me feel like I'm playing something new and fresh. It won't wow you or be on any end of the year lists, but for a buck it's not a bad buy at all. If you enjoy missile defense style games, you should definitely pick this one up.