Neo Defender 2 Review

Speed. Urgency. Panic.

My mind shifted at some point between levels from the fear of death to an unconquerable urge to relieve my bladder. Once sane thought re-entered my brain, I realized that I was positioned in some sort of cave man hunch over my iPhone that was laying flat, with my tongue out like I was the Michael Jordan of geometric shape destruction. Both of my index fingers were slightly sore, reminding me of the fact that I had been playing Neo Defender 2 for the past hour and a half. After plodding through a sea of average apps, I was finally a happy gamer.

Conceptually, Neo Defender 2 is one of the simpler games in the App Store. You are a ball-like object in the middle of the screen with two touch controlled cannons, and it is up to you to destroy the incoming enemies. Some enemies take more hits to kill while others split when you strike them... but they all need to be dead. It's a dog eat dog world out there.

The real joy of the game is that none of the weapons are automatic, which forces you to really get down and grind. Sure, you could probably play the game with two thumbs (on easy) and look normal, but Neo Defender 2 really needs to be played with some fast striking index fingers. My strategy throughout was to have one finger command the left side of the screen while the other commands the right, but occasionally things would break down when a mass of creeps would come swarming from the same side. All the while you have a few bonus weapons that you can select and fire, but diverting your attention from the swarm isn't usually the best strategy... hitting the baddies with raw power is.

To add some icing on the cake, Neo Defender 2 gives you a nifty weapon upgrade tree for spending some earned cash between levels. You can buy things like nukes, missiles, shields, and health, but I tend to spend my money on the heavy guns. Lasers that shoot through enemies and the mega cannon that mows down entire screen are the items for me, and Neo Defender has no shortage of big weapons.

In the end, if you like frantic action gaming on the iPhone, you'll absolutely love Neo Defender 2. Just don't try to play a quick game on your morning commute - you'll look deranged.