GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
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Charming art style
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Vaguely addictive gameplay
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Technically updated
Cons
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"Technically" updated
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All you do is toss things
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"Charming" often means "cruddy"
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The first reaction to XGen’s fortress-protection simulator ranged from a minor "pfft" from our art people to full-blown mock vomiting from one editor. An update of their own flash game, the argument goes that XGen haven’t really updated at all. Our scoffing editor even played the original in the background to make his point.
But they’re wrong. A) the crude stick men of the original are now, erm, crude crayon drawings of stick men, and B) the pointer tightens up controls that were fidgety with mouse control. When we say control scheme, we mean using the pointer to grab men and dash them against the floor before they raid your keep. Scores spiral, you beef up your castle – a button-headed archer here, an eraser-wielding wizard there – and the next thing you know, half an hour of your time has disappeared.
There’s a decent enough four-player mode to boot, not that these office ingrates will join in. Sigh. Like the stick men themselves, Defend Your Castle is a little skinny but not unable to break through your defences.
Jun 30, 2008
