Lock's Quest (Nintendo DS, 2008)

I only played the single player in normal mode, so that's what I'll base this review on.

For me, the game was quite repetitive in that each level (called 'Days') were solved by a similar strategy. In spite of the advancement in technology as the game progresses, I was able to solve most Days with the initial turrets and the poison trap. The thinking I had to do was simply compensate for terrain and resources. In this, time becomes the main challenge. However, this isn't so because there are unlimited continues, and the game always let's the player 'go back' and fix mistakes after a game over. In spite of this repetitiveness, though, I found the game highly enjoyable.

The most fun for me was from finding the new turrets and putting them together. Though they were easy to put together, I just liked doing it. It's like a toy. It's just fun to do. The use of the touch screen is what makes it fun. Everything in the game is controlled by the touch screen.

All abilities require a special touch-screen use to implement. Repairing is done by using an onscreen Ratchet which requires a back-and-forth motion. The attack ability requires the player to tap '1', '2', and '3' in a jumbled order. The poison ability requires the player to whirl a gear in a certain direction. And, I'll leave the remaining abilities secret. But, what I'm getting at, is that each ability is different in how it works. They're fun to use, and they completely change what makes this genre fun.

Yes, the player is still creating towers and, in fact, many levels can be won with simply a good tower defense. But, it's a lot more fun to run around and fight alongside the towers rather than just sit idly and hope the towers do their job. It's just a fun activity to do.

It's like any toy I had as a kid. I can't say exactly what about them was fun, they were just fun to toy around with. This game gave me that same feeling. Overall, this is a fun game but as I said, it can be repetitive. There's enough here, though, that it should be fun for anyone who tries it.

Have fun,

Matt