Empire Defense – a Tower Defense game of Medieval times
by Paul Wilks
Mar 19, 2012 8:32 AM –
Install
Empire Defense is a solid tower defense title set in the middle ages. Take on enemies with a variety of weapons including cannons, archery towers, poison towers and electric towers. The game is a very standard tower defense fare- defend a map against the oncoming hoards. If you are new to tower defense games, this is a great way to become immersed in the genre… but is it enough for more experienced gamers?
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Lots of towers to choose from!
- 6 different maps to select!
- Immersive gameplay!
- Challenging!
Cons
- Graphics are reasonable but there are far better in the Google Play Store.
- Perhaps doesn’t offer anything new or original.
Features:
Empire Defense is a neat and competent tower defense game that features plenty of towers and a variety of maps to defend. There are 5 levels of difficulty too so there is quite a lot of gameplay to be had. You can also speed the game up (something which is sometimes missed-out in these games), and rounds are automatically saved if you get called away from a challenging session.
There are a variety of enemies to take on from little soldier grunts and winged creatures to armoured elephants! You have an equal variety of towers at your disposal too (you have basic towers to start with and unlock the stronger ones as you progress). From the basic cannons and archery towers to powerful electric towers (it’s the middle ages, but hey) and the destructive Doom tower. The action is obviously a little stop/start but still remarkably engaging as you build your defenses and upgrade your towers. Towers can be upgraded twice to make them more powerful and you’ll definitely need this during the later waves which can be very challenging- even on easier settings.
I’ve played and reviewed quite a few tower defense games now and, like the others, I found Empire Defense immediately absorbing and immersive. I can never just leave tower defense games mid-level, they’re very addictive and hard to put down. While I enjoyed playing Empire Defense nothing about it struck me as being wholly original or new. OK, so maybe I’ve never played such a game against elephant units, but this aside it felt overly familiar and underwhelming. Coming from games like Sentinel 3: Homeworld, Night of the Living Dead Tower Defense and Fieldrunners HD; Empire Defense is seriously average. To its defense (no pun intended) it is a free title unlike the others which you have to pay for, but there’s arguably nothing here to really blow you away.
If you are new to the genre, this is certainly a great title to sink your teeth into. If however, you are a tower defense veteran, I’m unsure this will move you particularly. It’s an okay game, but nothing more. There is a follow up to this game entitled Empire Defense II. I hope to review this at a later date as I think it will be a worthwhile comparison, so look out for it. 
Watch on Mobile
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Empire Defense – Zoom in
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Empire Defense – Zoom out
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Empire Defense – Typical TD gameplay, build defenses keep out enemies
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Empire Defense – Even take on elephants!
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Empire Defense – Tap towers to upgrade or sell
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Empire Defense – Various Maps 1
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Empire Defense – Various Maps 2
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Empire Defense – Various Maps 3
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Empire Defense – Pause menu
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Empire Defense – Tower store
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Empire Defense – Options
Fun Factor:
If you haven’t played other tower defense games this is quite enjoyable and certainly fun. If, however, you’ve played your fare share of tower games, there is perhaps nothing here particularly rewarding. In places it is quite challenging, but it is still relatively underwhelming compared to the likes of Fieldrunners HD.
Addictive:
I always find tower defense games massively addictive and this is no different. You do feel very drawn into the action and putting the game down is incredibly difficult.
Graphics:
To be blunt, the graphics are very average. There’s some detail here, but if you’ve just come from playing something like Sentinel 3: Homeworld, Empire Defense is going to feel very inferior. I should stress again, however, that the game is a freebie, so if you’re really into tower defense titles; it would do no harm at all to download it and give the game a go.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is pretty unremarkable, just a series of shooting blips and repetitive noises of enemies being destroyed. There are additional sounds for placing towers and when you open the menu. This aside, it’s a relatively silent affair without music or atmosphere.