Add some apocalyptic action to your Tower Defence days - Here are 4 reasons to try Junkworld, available now on Apple Arcade

The vast majority of Tower Defense games on the market lean towards the more classic image the genre conjures; strategically placing your towers, and then watching as your well-honed plans destroy the army. But, what if you want to be a little more hands on with the battle? Well, with its action-dedicated Defense Mode, Ironhides’ Junkworld has you covered.

No more sitting still during enemy waves

Junkworld keeps the classic TDs Build Phase, but placing towers is only part of the battle, and compared to the Defense Mode, a very small part. You head into battle with a variety of Tactic Cards and Heroes which you can whip out to turn the tide of battle, plus you can move units and activate your tower skills for that perfect strategic rush.

A loaded deck with plenty of choice

There are 16 wonderfully insane tactic cards to choose from to help bolster your towers, such as the Trashman who is literally a big man in a trashcan, or Baron Von Bomber who flies around in a helicopter car throwing out heavy loads with his fantastic moustache. These inspired designs extend to the nine heroes you can choose from, each with their own unique looks and abilities to upgrade and master. For instance, Aster is a mediaeval knight who mounts a mechanical dragon and fires laser beams to deal AOE damage, and can slow enemy groups with oil, perfect for leading troops against the larger host of foes.

Tactic Cards are broken down into four distinct categories; Defenders which are designed to stall enemies, Striker which deals huge damage, Artillery which deals less damage but at a safer range, and Support which can buff friends and weaken foes. A special mention to the Pocket Whirlwind card design, which has a cat and a shark in the eponymous vortex, it looks fantastic.

Put together the perfect trinity of towers, cards, and heroes

So, you have your cards, and you've set up your tower, now it's time to think. There are many ways to combine all these weird and wonderful choices together for maximum carnage. Say, for example, you have set up a particularly devastating cluster of towers, and want to use their skills to deal the most damage. There are a few ways you can set this up.

Start off by throwing out a Trashman Defender card to stall the opposing advance in range of your towers. Whilst they are taking the brunt of the damage, back them up with a Field Healer support card for sustenance. This will keep your enemies in place longer for your tower skills to do their job. Add a bit more fuel to the fire with a Bazooka Jack tactic card, which deals splash damage with its strong blasts. Then, why not polish off these hapless foes with the Explosive Tank tactic card, which does exactly what it says on the tin. A spectacular way to control and decimate a group.

Hardy Heroes head the herd with harmonious heroics

The towers and cards alone come with a fantastic array of ways to combine and destroy, but when you start adding those heroes in, things get extra spicy. Take the above situation, and add The Steampunk Jenkins hero to it. They can release hot vapour generated by their armour to burn the enemies around them for extra damage and also release powerful energy to boost nearby tower damage. Set up your chokepoints correctly, and you can absolutely annihilate enemies with this combo.

This is just one possibility, with each hero lending themselves to different tactics. Dallas can take the lead on crowd control by stunning groups with his bike and slowing them with dense smoke, or Mad Marc can be your lynchpin in Boss waves thanks to their Triple Tap blunderbuss shots and trusty ground Meatball dealing massive single target damage. With its various tactics and hero cards, Junkworld has hundreds of ways to play, so if you are an Apple user, head to Apple Arcade and start experimenting today.

Junkworld is currently available to play right now on Apple Arcade across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

With a subscription to Apple Arcade for $4.99 per month, users get unlimited access to an evolving collection of more than 200 incredibly fun games including several other iconic Ironhide titles like Iron Marines, Legends of Kingdom Rush, Kingdom Rush Vengeance and Kingdom Rush Frontiers.