Fieldrunners 2

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on March 07, 2013

Fieldrunners 2 is the sequel to the megapopular Fieldrunners, which has occupied a spot high on the iOS App Store charts for months. The game is a perfect blend of casual and hard-core tower defense mechanics, designed to provide an overall highly engaging and satisfying experience for players who want a quick fix. Integrated with Game Center for both score keeping and matching, Fieldrunners 2 allows you to pit your defensive skills against the troops sent to take your city or battlefield.

The game mechanics, for anyone who has played a tower defense game, are very simple. Enemies rush your position and you place towers to kill them before they can reach the goal: in this case, the far end of the screen. Different types of enemies have varying health levels, while your towers are designed to do everything from slowing enemies down to killing them outright. The cash you carry in the top left of the screen will determine how many towers you can afford to build and ultimately how efficient your design will be. The game is intuitive and fun to play, though those on the run may be turned off by the long round durations and the exceptionally slow load times we experienced in both the free and paid versions of the game. Additionally, to gather more coins in the free version of the game, expect to either wait or pay for them directly -- you can also gain some extra by sharing on Twitter or Facebook.

Mixing a sharp sense of humor, witty presentation, and a strong game design that, while not revolutionary, offers a range of features for tower defense fans, Fieldrunners 2 is the best all-around Tower Defense game in the App Store today. With so many options out there, it is encouraging to see a game that finds a balance among casual accessibility and hard-core complexity and detail.