The tower defence game Kingdom Rush received huge amounts of praise when it was released on iPad earlier this year. Unsurprisingly the game is now available for the iPod Touch and iPhone, but just how well does it handle the transition?

As Kingdom Rush was first released on the iPad, my biggest worry was that it would suffer from being presented on a smaller scale. Thankfully, I was proven wrong immediately, as this game looks and sounds absolutely fantastic. Colours are put to great use, whilst levels and characters look sharp. Couple that with good sound effects, and the often comical remarks of your troops, and you’ve got a game that’s fun to play, as well as watch. For a tower defence game being fun to watch is crucial, as you’ll often be left staring at the screen whilst you wait for a wave to play out.

Of course, a good looking game is nothing without the gameplay to support it. Kingdom Rush excels in this department too. The game is simple, addictive, and challenging. If you’re thinking that so far Kingdom Rush sounds better than an Appletini on a Saturday night, well, you’d be wrong, but it is almost as good. You have 4 types of tower at your disposal, and you will need to be tactical about which ones you use and where they are placed. Each of these towers can be upgraded a number of times, using the coins you get from slaying your foes. You can also call down a meteor strike, or send in some quick reinforcements, however these powers will require time to cool down, so use them wisely. Kingdom Rush is a deceptively tactical game, so don’t be fooled by its cartoony exterior. You’ll also be pleased to know that I never encountered any issues that were resultant of the screen size. Towers and units are easily selected and you can zoom in on the battlefield to get a clearer picture of what’s going on, although doing this will slightly impact the visuals.

As you progress through the game you will graded on how you complete levels. At the end of each level you will earn either one, two, or three stars, based on your performance. If you get 3 stars on a level, you will unlock two more challenges for that level. Completing these additional challenges will earn you more stars, which you’ll need if you want to beat the harder levels. You see, you can spend the stars you earn on upgrading all manner of things. This is something you’ll really want to look in to if you want to stand a chance at collecting all 75 stars, because trust me when I say that later on this game gets rather difficult.

 The iPhone and iPod touch version of Kingdom Rush is priced at £0.69 in the UK and $0.99 in the US. For that price you are getting a pocket sized version of one of the best tower defence games on the market. Kingdom Rush offers everything you could want from a tower defence game, and then gives you some more. What are you waiting for? Go and buy it!

This review is based on a copy of Kingdom Rush, provided by the publisher and downloaded via the App Store.