Towers N' Trolls

When you've played as many tower defence titles as we have here at Pocket Gamer, it's almost impossible not to feel a little jaded when another one turns up - especially when it claims to be a fresh take on the dangerously over-subscribed genre. Towers N' Trolls does exactly that: developer Ember Entertainment has made various encouraging noises about how this game is different from all the other tower defence titles that have gone before, but in reality it offers little in the way of innovation.

The premise is typical of the genre. You have to defend your castle against a series of troll-like foes by placing towers along a predetermined pathway.

You have various structures at your disposal, including ballistas (your most commonly used variant) and scout towers (which have a long range). You also have ice towers (for slowing down the enemy), catapults, and heavy cannons.

There's a similar degree of variety in the enemies you face: some are fast but low on stamina, while others are large, resilient, but ponderously slow. These opponents descend upon your fortress in waves, and are even able to inflict damage on your towers - possibly the only original idea contained within the game.

Using cash, you can repair your damaged towers, upgrade existing ones, and - of course - build fresh defences. Enemies also drop gems, which you have to tap to add them to your stockpile. You can use these to purchase additional one-shot weapons, such as powder kegs, gas clouds, and minefields.

Aside from the enemy's ability to damage your buildings, there's very little in Towers N' Trolls that stands out as new and exciting.

However, that's not to say what's here isn't worth a look. The visuals are eye-catching, and you'll want to take advantage of the pinch-to-zoom function in order to get a better look at the fine 2D artwork.

The game is responsive and relatively easy to control, too. It also manages to mix up the action a little, with some missions adopting a slightly different take on the tower defence concept.

One challenge has a massive open pathway to your castle, which means you have to rely heavily on your stock of minefield special items.

And that's the single biggest problem with this game: the genre has been done to death on iOS, and it takes something truly groundbreaking to stand out from the crowd. Towers N' Trolls lacks innovation, but it remains a playable and entertaining game nonetheless.Arial">