Hands-on with Eden to GREEEEN THD for Tegra 3-powered Android devices

One of the more unusual games demoed on the Nvidia stand at Mobile World Congress last week was iNiS's Eden to GREEEEN (yes, four E's), a tower offence game that sees a selection of plants square off against a mighty machine army.

Rather than follow the PopCap route and feature action that plays out on a bright and colourful 2D plane, Eden to GREEEEN THD takes place across a series of terrains. These environments positively sizzle thanks to the Tegra 3's post-processing chops and the top-of-the-range mobile effects it supports.

iNiS has also taken an unusual decision regarding the tower offence / defence genre by opting for a turn-based system in Eden to GREEEEN THD.

Lets plant!

What isn't unusual, however, is that the graphics on this Tegra 3 Unreal Engine title look rather splendid - the incidental details on each unit bring to life what would have otherwise been quite a static-looking game.

Even the parts surrounding the playing area have things going on in them, with large rusted machines pounding away at the scorched, barren earth. Zooming into the screen doesn't break the illusion, either, with the cracks in the earth becoming sharper, rather than a blurry textured mess.

Your aim on each level is to turn those large swathes of cracked earth into lush, colourful grassland. You achieve this by planting special "energy" plants out in the barren wasteland, with each one spreading Mother Nature's influence to a particular degree.

As your land grows in size, so your energy income increases, allowing you to place down more destructive 'offence and 'defence' units onto the grassland. Striking the right balance between expansion and defence, then, is the main order of the day.

Mean and greeeen

Standing in the way of your reaching a chained mighty oak (whose release signals the end of a level) is an assortment of demon-like machines: these range from possessed bulldozers to huge lumbering dump trucks.

Combat takes place on the enemy's turn, which is a little unusual, with your units firing first should the machines saunter into your firing range.

Each of the vehicles has a different priority, so the smaller machines prefer to dart around your defences, while the lumbering behemoths try to power their way through.

One rather clever twist on the traditional tower defence / offence formula is the way in which Eden to GREEEEN THD manages upgrades to your troops. Rather than spend money / energy, you build up your units level by level as each turn elapses (up to a maximum of three).

This helps prevent you from steamrolling once your energy income is high, with even the most expensive troops vulnerable to smaller enemies when they're first planted.

Eden to GREEEEN THD will launch with both a single-player campaign and an asynchronous co-operative multiplayer mode for up to three players (including special moves for specific combinations of plants). I asked about plans for a competitive multiplayer mode, which is likely to arrive quite sometime after the game ships.

The game will be a free-to-play (rather than freemium) experience, with all maps - ranging from grassland to snow - available without your having to pay a penny. The paid-for part will revolve around unit power-ups. iNiS is also planning to deliver fresh content every two weeks.

Eden to GREEEEN THD is expected to launch on Tegra 3 devices in July.

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