One of the strongest entries in an overcrowded castle defense genre is Liv Games’ Legendary Wars [Free]. We reviewed Legendary Wars back when it launched during Macworld in January, and found it to be highly enjoyable due to the variety of gameplay types, interesting upgradeable abilities, and wonderful artwork. Liv Games didn’t stop there, either, and offered up a substantial update to the game in March that added Retina Display support, Game Center integration, and a number of other enhancements and optimizations.

Legendary Wars is a game that seems like it would lend itself very well to the larger screen of the iPad, and indeed many players in our forums have been enjoying the game a lot just playing on the iPad in 2x pixel doubled mode. There’s no need for that anymore, however, as the iPad native Legendary Wars HD [99¢] is now available. It's essentially the same exact game content-wise, but the bigger screen allows more of the battlefield to be shown, requiring less scrolling and giving you a better view for planning your strategy.

Legendary Wars HD looks and plays wonderfully with a properly formatted screen and native resolution graphics for the iPad. As a special launch promotion, and as a bonus for current owners of the game who may want to double dip with the iPad version, Legendary Wars HD can be purchased for just 99¢ through the weekend. Plus, if you don't already have the iPhone/iPod touch version, you can currently pick that up for free this weekend as well. It goes without saying that you should definitely give the regular version a download while free, and if you own an iPad then Legendary Wars HD is an easy recommendation at the launch price of 99¢.

If you haven't seen Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, that's a problem you really should think about fixing this weekend. Evil Dead is streamable on Netflix, and both Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness are able to be rented (or purchased) on iTunes. The series follows the battle between Ashley "Ash" J. Williams and his encounters with the deadites, the evil offspring risen by the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. If you like campy horror movies, there really is no finer trilogy.

Anyway, Army of Darkness: Defense takes the popular hero-based castle battle genre and applies a thick coating of Bruce Campbell to it... A combination that could make any genre amazing, but the setting of Army of Darkness lends itself particularly well to the genre. In the game, you play as Ash, and can dispatch all kinds of different forces in various battles with the deadites. The gameplay is fairly standard for a castle battler with a hero you control, with upgrades that you can purchase for Ash himself, the troops you dispatch, as well as your castle. Where Army of Darkness: Defense pulls ahead is in how incredibly well Backflip Studios has implemented all aspects of the movie into the game. I won't spoil too much, but this game basically redefines fan service.

Army of Darkness: Defense is launching on May 12th for 99¢ on the iPhone and iPod touch along with a HD version for the iPad which will be priced at $2.99. Additionally, each game will have entirely optional in-app purchase where you'll be able to buy packs of coins to spend on upgrades. Keep in mind, you earn these very same coins by actually playing the game, so unless you're the kind of person who wants to dump their money into the game to instantly upgrade everything and completely break the difficulty curve... There's not much reason to buy coins.

Stay tuned for next month, we'll have a full review to accompany the game's release.

Gobtron [$1.99] from Juicy Beast Studio started out as a Flash game a few years ago, and last week an iOS port made its way into the App Store. Gobtron is a type of castle defense game where you play as a gigantic pink monster who must fend off puny human attackers throughout 5 ages of history. The interesting thing is how the Gobtron goes about defending himself, primarily using a string of snot from his nose but also utilizing other bodily functions for additional attack types. It’s a bit on the gross side but done in a lighthearted way, and Gobtron actually offers some pretty fun gameplay with its unique control mechanics and weapon upgrade system.

Gobtron takes place over 18 levels in 5 eras, starting out in the Stone Age and moving to Ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, modern-day military, and finally a futuristic age. In each level enemies will approach the base of the massive Gobtron in waves, feebly attacking with their weapons which chip away at his health meter. The enemies’ attacks start out as small spears and rocks in the stone age, and evolve into more deadly weapons like guns, aircraft, and ground-based vehicles.

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Right smack in the middle of Macworld this past January, Liv Games released their first iOS title called Legendary Wars [99¢/Lite]. It’s a castle defense game similar to a plethora of other titles available in the App Store, but Legendary Wars made some smart design decisions that set itself apart from the rest. There are 3 different lanes to manage, which adds a layer of depth to the landscape as you send troops towards the enemy castle or deal with oncoming attacks. There are also a staggering number of different game types that afford a ton of variety to the gameplay. A full armory and upgrade system motivates you to keep on playing just one more game as you power up your offensive squad.

We were really surprised at just how much we enjoyed Legendary Wars in our review, and really the biggest negative we had was that the lovely artwork in the game didn’t support Retina Display resolution, and looked pretty fuzzy on those devices. Today Liv Games has rectified this by releasing an update that includes Retina Display graphics and a number of other goodies. Check out these comparison shots below to see just how big a difference the higher resolution art work makes in Legendary Wars (normal resolution on left, Retina resolution on right. Click to enlarge):

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Early last month we took a look at Bug Heroes [$1.99], a dual stick shooter of sorts that borrows gameplay elements from many different genres. In the game, you play as one of three bugs, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You must switch between them to protect your pile of food, and dish out punishment to the invaders looking to steal it. We went in to detail in our review:

The bulk of Bug Heroes takes place in the Adventure mode. Here you battle in 4 different environments using a combination of three different characters as you defend a stockpile of food from an onslaught of hungry insect enemies. Money is collected as you defeat enemies which can then be used on various types of upgrades. You can add several different types of turrets to your food pile to protect it while you are away, or you can buy better weaponry to increase the offense of each character. Gameplay involves exploring each environment to collect additional food to add to your stockpile while simultaneously fending off enemies. The game ends when all three characters die or your entire food reserve is depleted. ...Read More

Just two days after we took a hands-on look at ARDefender from developer Int13, the game has now become available in the App Store as of this morning. What is a nice surprise is that the game has launched for just 99¢. In ARDefender, you'll print out a special PDF image from ARDefender.com that is read by the software and creates a 3D tower in the real-life space of the iOS device camera's view. Enemies then attack the tower from all angles, and you fend them off with a weapon placed on top of the tower. You'll have a machine gun, rockets, and a laser at your disposal as you take on the endless waves of increasingly difficult enemies.

It's a cool concept and one that works really well in practice. I was blown away with how convincingly the tower seems to actually exist in the area where you're playing the game. The gameplay itself is also quite fun, although pretty bare bones. There's really only one mode to play through in ARDefender which has you defending against seemingly endless waves of enemies. Beyond that, there's not a whole lot more to the game. I'd love to see something along the lines of a story mode, different styles of towers, or online leaderboards and achievements. Still, what's here in terms of gameplay is pretty darn fun anyway. This video shows off one round of ARDefender as well as me playing around a little with how the technology works:

One thing that is important to take note of is that ARDefender will not work with the original iPhone or iPhone 3G. It would make sense that the older iPod touches would not run the game as they don't have an external camera (the game does run on the new camera-enabled 4th generation iPod touches by the way), but apparently ARDefender requires some processing power that needs at least a 3Gs iPhone or above.

Normally when a game only has one mode to play with not a lot of bells and whistles, it can be hard to recommend as those games tend to get old pretty quickly. In ARDefender's case however, the technology is just so impressive and the gameplay is so well done that it's hard to pass on the game when it's only a dollar. It's definitely something you'll want to show off to your friends because it's so neat, and players in our forums are already finding all of the wacky places they can place the PDF image and play the game (including pulling up the image on a second Apple device and growing the tower right out of that device's screen). If you have a dollar to spare and a capable device, you should definitely give ARDefender a try.

Vikings are widely considered a gruff and fearsome group, but what many people may not know is that they have a softer side as well. This has never been more readily apparent than it is in the game Axe in Face [99¢] from Blue Carrot Games. The Norse gardener Red Beard, when he's not looting and pillaging, likes to tend to his beautiful plot of yellow daffodils. His fellow Viking peers apparently don't share this appreciation of fine horticulture and will brazenly trample through Red Beard's garden, crushing the delicate flowers beneath their feet. This enrages Red Beard, and he deals with it in typical Viking fashion – by throwing an axe at the offenders and lopping off their heads.

Okay, so that part doesn't exactly qualify as the “softer” side of Red Beard, but it is an effective way to keep people out of your garden. Axe in Face can best be described as a line drawing defense game. Your daffodils occupy the left edge of the screen while waves of impolite Vikings approach from the right. Drawing a line from Red Beard creates a path for the axe to travel on before returning to him like a boomerang, and the goal is to behead as many Vikings as possible with each throw while not allowing any of them to get by you and into the garden. You can only throw one axe at a time and must wait for it to return to Red Beard before throwing again, and if even one Viking gets into the daffodils it's game over.

There's also some strategic elements to Axe in Face that add challenge and variety to the gameplay. Since the waves of Vikings are constantly moving forward, you'll need to lead each axe throw in order to ensure it crosses their path. There are different types of Vikings moving at different speeds, and it can be really satisfying to time your throw just right as to hit a group of them in one throw. One type of Viking is holding a tree as he walks, and your axe must first pass through a fire at the bottom of the screen before it will do damage to these enemies. Also, orbs can be collected from beheaded Vikings which contribute to a special meter which can allow you to either zap three Vikings with lightning or freeze the playfield and slow down their movement.

All of these elements come together really well in Axe in Face providing a simple concept with just enough depth and strategy to keep things interesting. It can be an incredibly challenging game too, but not overly frustrating. Rather than get mad at failing a level I can't help but smile as Red Beard bursts into tears when his flowers are trampled. The graphics and sound effects are really well done too, and Axe in Face contains 32 increasingly difficult levels and a number of achievements which should keep you busy for quite a while. Players in our forums are really enjoying the game, and the developer is there as well to answer questions and take suggestions for future updates. If you're looking for a game that blends elements from different genres in a fun way and provides a hearty challenge, Axe in Face is definitely a solid choice.

It seems our love affair with monsters and zombies is still as strong as ever, as there seems to be no let-up on these apps appearing on the AppStore. Well, at least Chillingo thinks so, releasing Monster Mayhem [AppStore] -- a castle defense game which seems a mash-up of MonsterKill, Zombieville and even a dash of Plants vs Zombies.

The game begins by introducing a horde of monsters rising from the graveyard over which you are custodian and heading for the gate to the outside world. Naturally, this grave keeper has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal (don't they all?) to prevent this from happening, and that's about all there is to the story. Monster Mayhem plays a lot like MonsterKill, but instead of enemies coming in waves down the screen, they use the horizontal screen real estate to stage their charge. The whole game has a great look that closely resembles the aforementioned PvZ.

At first, Monster Mayhem seems much like other castle defense games. Though you don't have to flick characters around in finger-seizing fits typical of the genre, there is still the need for endless swiping, particularly as you begin with a knife. Here it draws parallels with MonsterKill, where knife attacks are effected by swiping across an enemy. Unfortunately each swipe seems only to hit one monster, only worsening the inevitable digit agony.

Fortunately, the gameplay offers a reprieve of sorts by introducing firearms that are all tap-tap-tap. It means that your finger isn't being worn to a nub by tricky gestures, instead going back to a simple shooting range gameplay where your finger is the trigger. Having said that, you'll be faced with a lot of mad tapping, where finger soreness is still a reality (indeed, a likelihood), something that may still turn people away but at least is a step in the right direction for the genre.

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Earlier this month we had a chance to preview ZombieSmash by Gamedoctors, a castle defense game that promised to stand out from the pack by marrying the genre with another of our favorite pass-times-- Zombie Killing. That concept certainly seems to have gained a lot of attention in our forums of late, and now the wait is over, as ZombieSmash [AppStore] is available!

Our time with ZombieSmash has laid to rest our doubts that the genre had wrung out all it could, as ZombieSmash not only looks gorgeous, in a cute Plants vs Zombies kind of way, but has a number of surprisingly original elements to diversify the tired castle defense gameplay too. For starters, enemies can attack from both sides of the house at once, putting to use the multi-touch features of the iPhone. Scripted level manipulation also gives the game a more tailored and refined experience, in one level for example the screen gradually zooms closer and closer on the house you are protecting, making it more difficult to respond to incoming attacks and upping the challenge. It gives a sense of purpose and individuality to each level that removes some of the monotony of seeing the same house over and over.

A castle defense game wouldn't be complete without a range of monsters to defend against, and ZombieSmash delivers abundantly in this respect. New monster types are regularly introduced, each with their own attack style and different means required to dispatch them. And by means we're talking about over 20 unique weapons and upgrades that are each controlled differently, from pull-the-pin grenades (which hilariously, you can smack the zombies around with before they explode) to screen-clearing giant boulders. Whilst there seems to be an underlying strategy to ZombieSmash in deciding where and when to use your special weapons, particularly as some weapons combine to do additional damage, as a castle defense game that incessant flicking-like-a-madman gameplay is unescapable, and is ultimately what turns people away from the genre. The developers have seemed to recognise this and address it somewhat, as a few levels focus solely on special weapons, blocking the ability to grab enemies altogether.

One of the high watermarks of our experience with ZombieSmash has been the "Finish Him" cam (a throwback to Mortal Kombat fatalities) where time freezes and you can bestow immeasurable pain on the last zombie of each level-- all recorded in celluloid for you to seamlessly email to your friends, send to facebook or save them to your phone without leaving the game. To round out the socialisation aspects, ZombieSmash features Chillingo's Crystal platform, offering achievements and leaderboards for a variety of the game modes on offer.

ZombieSmash has 31 Campaign levels (with the choice of either Normal or Hard mode), an Endless Siege mode and a nifty Sandbox mode, where weapons and Zombies that you've met in the Campaign mode can get friendly in your very own creative/sadistic ways without the risk to your house. From what we've seen based on our own sessions with the Sandbox, and from posts coming in from our readers, there are some rather remarkable means of eliminating Zombies that may not seem apparent at first. There is also a comprehensive upgrade system in ZombieSmash, where stars collected from the other modes can be used to boost your arsenal and defenses, enabling you to hold out and dish out all the more. You'll need to really dig deep into the upgrade shop to face the Hard difficulty levels, as even Normal difficulty poses a substantial challenge in the mid to latter stages.

ZombieSmash has evidently received a lot of love from the developers, who have attempted to liven up the stale flicking gameplay that comes with most castle defense games. As a result, ZombieSmash really does stand head and shoulders above its competition.

Despite all this, we still aren't convinced it'll make converts out of those who avoid castle defense games, but may draw in those open to a different take on the genre. A rocking soundtrack by Chris Hülsbeck, of Giana Sisters fame, completes the package-- a fitting encore for your hard day of Zombie culling.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Debut Trailer (which we've included above) for a look at the gameplay. Also, check out our discussion thread, which is brimming with many positive impressions from our readers.

App Store Link: ZombieSmash, $1.99.