PixlBit

It seems that tower defense games are entirely too prevalent these days. With Crystal Defenders having released recently, as well as South Park, it seems the genre is unavoidable. Creature Defenders for the PSP is the latest game in this now popular genre. Like any other tower defense game, players must stop an invading army by deploying towers. Failure to defeat enemy creatures causes the player’s base to lose health, which will be a variable amount depending on the attacking creature.

As with most tower defense games Creature Defense has its own set of hooks to try and separate it from the crowd of others. Unlike many similar titles, players don’t earn new towers as they play the game. Rather, players are given a pool of cards, from which they must choose five. These five cards represent particular creatures, which are players’ towers during the attack phase. Before each phase players can modify their deck and eventually buy new cards to integrate.

Each creature, both friend and foe, carries a particular elemental type. The game has three primary elements, which follow the rock-paper-scissors strength and weakness triangle. The game also offers dark and light elements, which enhance the damage dealt to the opposing element.

In addition to the elemental properties, most creatures have different abilities. Some are passive and provide an effect within a specific range, while other abilities only trigger as you level up the creature. Some even affect enemy creatures when your creature strikes them. This was my favorite element of the game because it makes deck construction more layered and important.

The game also includes a section dedicated to Eye of Judgment. In this section, players use any of the three creatures from the Eye of Judgment series in their deck once they are unlocked. Unfortunately, this inclusion feels tacked on as it serves no meaningful purpose.

Each stage in the game features different modes and a number of phases. As players complete each phase, they will unlock more phases and extra modes such as time attack. Given the multitude of modes for each stage, the game offers significant replay value.

Presentation wise, the game is bland due to the generic fantasy theme and the boring soundtrack. Both the pre-rendered backgrounds and the creature designs are largely uninspired and generic.

While Creature Defense offers some unique strategy and depth, it’s still your typical tower defense game. If you are tired of games in the genre, Creature Defense offers nothing that will change your mind. If you are interested in a new tower defense title the game’s additional layer of strategy is a welcome complexity.