Trenches Generals
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad
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It's strange, then, to find myself liking the slightly cartoonish approach taken to this grisly subject by Trenches Generals. Developer Thunder Game Works has created a game that is an odd pastiche of styles. It's not realistic, but the use of a muted, barbed wire-littered terrain is in stark contrast to the exaggerated cartoon soldiers that players command. I've never given a single thought to the loss of a defense tower in, say, Fieldrunners, but in Trenches Generals there is a palpable sense of loss when soldiers fall.
Gameplay in Trenches Generals is also a hybrid of styles, but it best resembles a tower defense game. Tired of TD games? Don't be discouraged from playing Trenches. It's unique enough to make it seem fresh to even a TD veteran. Unlike Fieldrunners, the area for battle is surprisingly linear. Players mass their troops on the left-hand side of the screen, while the enemy masses on the right. The goal, simply enough, is to move armies to the opponent's headquarters and destroy it.
Multiplayer is only local head-to-head at the moment, which is a shame. A game like this could really benefit from online multiplayer, so perhaps it will show up in a later update. Also, be aware that even the devs acknowledge Trenches Generals is a memory and resource hog. It can become laggy at times, and controls can sometimes not be as responsive as they could be.
Minor quibbles aside, Trenches Generals is an engaging, fresh take on the stale tower defense genre. While it is a far cry from a true wargame or a simulation, it has enough atmosphere to connect players to the time period and the game itself - and I STILL don't like to see my little soldiers die.