Dofus: Battles HD Review

Dofus: Battles HD (or just Dofus: Battles for the iPhone version) is a sort of mix between a tower defense, real-time strategy, and role-playing game set in the “World of Twelve.” The World of Twelves is where the MMORPG Dofus (not to be confused with “doofus”) takes place. Dofus: Battles IS NOT an app to play the MMORPG; it’s a completely different and separate game.

I’ve never played the MMORPG Dofus, but I actually considering taking a look at it after playing Dofus: Battles. The story, characters, and settings in Dofus have that awesome mix of fantasy and humor (perhaps cuteness is a better description) that is so hard not to smile at. Little things like the “Sawn-Off Pulley Bow” are just too clever not to notice.

The actually gameplay is enjoyable. Each round is set up mainly like a tower defense game. Monsters spawn at one end, the player is protecting a dragon at the other end, and heros (towers) must be built in between to prevent the monsters from reaching the dragon. The heroes can be moved between waves. New heroes can be built during and after the waves when five crystals are collected (dropped from dead monsters). There are twelve different heroes: six attacking and six support. The heroes are introduced two at a time and are increasingly unique and complex. It starts with a simple warrior and healer and ends with a life-stealer and a critical strike-increaser.

Levels are contained in various regions on a map. Almost immediately, a mini-game region is unlocked which contains a game similar to Labyrinth and roulette-ish game to gamble for more gold. The Labyrinth-like game is awesome for taking a break and earning some more gold for items. Various items are unlocked for the heroes to buy each time they level up (experienced gained from completing levels). I’ve noticed that four heroes always receive experience. Even if a level is gone through using only three (which I’ve done a few times), a random fourth hero will receive experience.

I don’t feel like the game does a good enough job of pointing out everything during the tutorial period. I honestly didn’t notice that there was an inventory until the third or fourth level when I was wondering why the little monsters were destroying me. And after noticing the inventory, it took me another few levels to realize that there was money and a shop to buy new items. While the features may be obvious to other players, I tend to expect almost everything to be shown to me in the tutorial.

I haven’t had as much fun playing an iPad game since Battleheart. Dofus: Battles is a great mixture of some of my favorite strategy genres. Hopefully in future updates, Ankama will increase the level cap and add more levels and mini-games.

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