Bloons TD Battles Review

Developer: Ninja Kiwi
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 5

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Bloons TD Battles takes the tower defense concept espoused in the Bloons TD series, and makes into a simplfied-yet-fun multiplayer variant.

Essentially, the goal is the same: last as long as possible while building towers to defeat the enemy creeps, which are balloons known as “bloons” because that’s the name of the game. However, here’s where the multiplayer comes in for the Assault mode: it’s possible to spend one’s money on either tower defenses or to send additional bloons to the opponent. Bloons will automatically spawn each round, but who knows? Maybe that additional set of bloons will cause one’s nemesis to spend money on an upgrade they didn’t want in order to take out a certain bloon type, or maybe that will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Such is how victory and defeat happens, like the few drops of water that fall from the ceiling before the whole roof collapses.

Sending bloons also has an additional benefit: they increase the interest rate for money earned over time, so sending bloons has a long-term benefit. There are different bloon types to send and different modifiers that may be harder to take out. Of course, bloon money is money not spent on towers. The balance must be found. Those who just want to focus on tower building while trying to outlast an opponent can play Defensive mode instead, where there’s no interaction with the opponent, just trying to survive the other person.

Now, the game is a bit simplified from the deep and complex Bloons TD 5 in that the board is split in half to watch both the opponent and one’s own board. Players only get three towers to use plus a fourth that they can buy with energy, though additional upgrade tiers can be bought with medallions.

Bloons TD Battles is free-to-play, yet it does it in a way that’s not all that terrible. Energy is not used to play games but to buy boosts, like that additional random tower, to supercharge the towers, lay down spikes, or even beef up the attack bloons. They can be refilled by waiting, watching video ads, or just straight up buying them. They definitely help, but at least energy can be refilled without too much effort, and a good strategy will likely win out. Also, new upgrade tiers have to be unlocked by getting more darts, which are only earned by playing the game. Basically, it means that pulling an Augustus St. Cloud and buying one’s way to victory and breaking the rules isn’t really possible.

While the more hardcore tower defense fan will likely want to stick with Bloons TD’s main series, those looking for casual showdowns with other players will want to play Bloons TD Battles, and at a free price, hey – why not?