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I admit I have a soft spot for Tower Defense style games. They are exceptionally easy to just pick up and play in short bursts, easy to understand, quick to learn but often difficult to master. I tend to use my iPod Touch games to keep from falling asleep while on the bus, and Tower Defense games are ideal for that while being perfectly suited to the iPhone/iPod touch screen.

For those of you who somehow have never played one, Tower Defense games usually require you to defend a specific location from encroaching hordes who, quite considerately, tend to follow a specific path in their assault. You build defenses to repel these attacks, usually consisting of different kinds of towers which can be constructed and upgraded using points earned by defeating enemies. Therefore, the longer you play, the more challenges you face and the more options you have.

There are LOTS of Tower Defense games in the App Store currently, some are witty, action-packed classics like Tap Defense or The Creeps…while others are, quite honestly, trash. However, I am always on the look out for new ones, and one crossed my desk a few days ago that turns the concept a bit on it’s head. In Dungeon Defense, you play the bad guy, using your evil horde of the undead to brutally defend your lair against all those simpering, goody-goody dungeon adventure types. What fun!

The game is just as easy to learn and control as other leading Tower Defense games, allowing you to create skeletal swordsmen, archers or axe wielders, each with their own strengths and weaknesses to teach those heroes a lesson. The skeletons may also be upgraded, but only twice and their abilities remain more or less the same…they just take and deliver more damage. Normally I prefer a wider range of defenders and upgrades, so thatis a bit of a ding against the game. While your defenders may lack a little bit as far as variety, the heroes assaulting you however are a colorful, diverse bunch and there are three distinctly different maps (Crypt Siege, Dungeon King or Blood Orb) to choose from which have profound effects on the strategies you need to use. Also, each map type has three difficulty levels to choose from.

The graphics are first rate, especially as far the environments are concerned, and the gameplay is simple but addictive. I have found myself returning to Dungeon Defense again and again over the last week despite the small lack of variety. If you enjoy casual games, Tower Defense games or skeletons doing painful looking things to do-gooders, then this game is definitely for you. I can strongly recommend it.

Dungeon Defense by InMotion Software is a 37.5 MB download, available from the App Store for $2.99. It requires OS 2.0 or greater and is compatible with 3.0.