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CNET Editors' review
GeoDefense Swarm is the follow-up to GeoDefense, and is an extremely challenging open-path tower-defense game. Like its predecessor, GeoDefense Swarm stands out for a unique play style that mixes frantic arcade action with bang-your-head-against-a-wall puzzle-solving. Aside from the new open-path format, GeoDefense Swarm has much in common with the original GeoDefense, from its psychedelic vector graphics to its drag-and-drop interface and the same selection of upgradeable towers (GeoDefense Swarm adds a sixth tower, the Thumper, which deals damage in a wide area). You're still destroying a set number of waves of geometric "creeps," all with differing health and speed, and GeoDefense Swarm occasionally mixes up the playing field with obstacles and squares that have special effects, such as healing and speeding up creeps.
GeoDefense Swarm features 30 levels separated across three difficulties--Easy, Medium, and Hard--and you can still choose Novice Mode if you want to play without posting high scores. Because of the more open-ended possibilities of the open-path format, the level design of GeoDefense Swarm doesn't feel quite as tight as the original, and you might find yourself having to experiment even more to find winning strategies for the game's constantly evolving maps and enemy configurations. Depending on your personal preferences, this can be a feature or a bug, but GeoDefense Swarm is definitely more difficult than GeoDefense. Newcomers to tower-defense games may find themselves struggling, and unfortunately the game doesn't make learning the rules easy, revealing only incremental tips at the start of each level and piecemeal hints after losing levels.
Overall, GeoDefense Swarm is a solid, impressive game, an excellent value, and an especially satisfying title for tower-defense power gamers looking for a challenge.
Publisher's Description
From Critical Thought Games:
The Thinking Man's Tower Defense Returns!Introducing geoDefense Swarm, the sequel to the critically acclaimed geoDefense.TIME Magazine: Best of Everything 2009 Award Winner!!!!!!kotaku: Sixteen Games That Make iPhone Gaming Worthwile list!appadvice: "geoDefense Swarm is a stunning visual masterpiece!"GamePro: 5/5 Stars "Can Swarm live up to the family name? You bet it can...Buy this game today."panapticon: "100/100 Quite simply a perfect iPhone game!"IGN.com - 8.2 "Impressive"AppChatter.com - "geoDefense Swarm is a must own game..."AustraliaiPhone.com - "geoDefense is one of the best tower defense games, and Swarm is even better, maybe the best in the App Store!"geoDefense Swarm takes all the dizzying visuals, vexing challenges and addictive gameplay from the original, and changes the equation instead of defeating creeps along a pre-defined path, geoDefense Swarm challenges you to use your creativity, building mazes for the creeps to navigate across obstacle-laden open levels.NEW FEATURES- Classic 'Open Field' Tower Defense Gameplay- 30 Levels, Each With its Own Unique Challenges- One 'Endless' Level in Each Difficulty Group - the Creeps Keep Comin'!- geoDefense Swarm is OpenFeint Enabled - Featuring Online Leaderboards- New Tower, new Creep, new Challenges!
What's new in this version: - Beautiful high resolution Retina graphics for your iPhone 4- Fixes for state saving on 4.0+ iOS when multitasking- Latest OpenFeint (v2.8)- Remember, the list of levels does scroll! Make sure you get to play all the levels!
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4.5 starsout of 2 votes
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Results 1-2 of 2
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"Good open-ended play, but challenging"
Version: geoDefense Swarm 1.0.5
Pros
This is a good iPhone implementation of a tower defense game--not overly complicated with saving money to invest in research for example. You can get straight to the game play.
Cons
Maybe I'm just a lousy gamer, but I would have appreciated more beginner levels. It's nice that you can play in non-challenging mode, but I found the learning curve steep.
Summary
This is a good variation on tower defense games, a good combination of real-time adrenaline and more thoughtful strategy.
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"Outstanding!"
Version: geoDefense Swarm 1.0.5
Pros
Hours and hours of fun
Cons
levels get hard - fast!
Summary
An excellent game, that provides hours and hours of fun - though levels can be very tough and frustrating.
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