Sometimes the best defense is in the form of a good offence. That kind of adage holds well for Mysterious Hunters for the iPhone; it’s a game that takes classic Tower Defense styled gameplay and turns it on its head, creating some sort of strategy platformer. In this game, you control a tribe of hunters going about hunting on 5 different islands which represent the levels in the game.
In each level, you may put in place up to 4 of your tribesmen, which can be of different types. There are a couple of hunter types that bash creeps with a club or mallet, several range types that will either shoot with a bow, javelin or a machinegun. Support types are limited to a cannon fodder tribesman who will soak up damage with a shield, and a healer type shaman.
Each level takes place like the levels found in a 2D platformer, with your tribesmen moving forward taking on all comers. The creeps are a variety of creatures, ranging from hedgehogs to polar bears. Boss creeps tend to be huge extinct creatures like dinosaurs and the woolly mammoth. So instead of waiting for the creeps to come at you like in a typical tower defense game, Mysterious Hunters will have you taking the fight against them instead.
Like other games in the genre, your towers, in this case, your walking tribesmen are upgradable. The thing is, each time you upgrade a particular type, the price to purchasing one from that type will increase. Upgrades and earnings (each time you kill a creep, you earn meat) from each level however, are thankfully carried forward to the next level, offsetting the increased amount you have to pay as well as the need to re-upgrade.
I like the game with its well animated 2D graphics and also the upgrade system. The only problem is, it’s a little short. It’s easy to actually finish the game within several hours. The most recent update to the game allows for GameCenter leaderboards and achievements, these are basically incentives to re-play the game. From what I can tell, there are plenty of people replaying the game, with 40 million points being the score to beat at the top. Try contrasting this with my 100,000+ points and the fact that I’ve nearly completed the last level.
Mysterious Hunters is a pretty good game to pass the time with and gives a good challenge (and a twist or two) for Tower Defense fans. It’s currently available at the App Store for just USD 0.99. Check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mysterious-hunters/id389113291?mt=8. Recommended
