iOS Tower Defense

[AntonThaGreat]

Okay, I'm of a mind that Tower Defense games are uniquely perfect for the iPad.

Here are the ones that I have spent many hours playing so far:


StarTD (It's fucking great, very challenging and addicting, but unfortunately removed from the AppStore. Reason unknown. I have the file for it, if anyone knows what to do with it. )
TowerDefense (It's great, but no upgrade path for towers, which sucks. Making some of the later levels exceedingly difficult.)
The Creeps! (Another great tower defense game, unfortunately I bought the iPhone version by accident, so I don't spend much time playing it.)
[Epic War TD](http://itunes.apple.com/th/app/epic-war-td-ipad-edition/id442904842?mt=8) Also, another awesome free TD game. Go gettit!
Kingdom Rush (Great all around tower defense game, great graphics, and you get land units, which puts an interesting spin on the genre.)


Also, **Sentinel 3: Homeworld** is currently free, and supposedly it's not too shabby. Go grab it! Downloading it now myself.

Some that are also worth checking out:

Jelly Defense
GeoDefense
Field Runners
Plants Vs. Zombies (I beat this on PC, so I didn't put it up top, but it's worth your money.)
Anomaly - Warzone Earth (I beat this on PC, so I didn't put it up top, but it's also worth your money.)
TowerMadness
BloonsTD4



I'm pissed that [GemCraft](http://armorgames.com/play/3527/gemcraft-chapter-0) (Go give it a shot, it's a Flash Game) is so bad on the iPad, why couldn't they just port the damn game the way it was on the PC?! It's probably the best, most balanced and indepth TD game I ever played and it's fucking free.

[Unstoppable Gorg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw2DecEcrz0) is coming to the iPad, and it's going to be freakin' amazing. Can't wait.

Also, I haven't played any other type of strategy games on the iPad, so if there are any good ones out there, let me know. I'm down for Real-time or Turn-based! Games like Age of Empires, Command & Conquer and Civilization, something of that sort. God, I wish they ported Age of Empires: Rise of Rome to the iPad. Days of my life would be lost, especially if they ported multiplayer as well. That game ran great on 1028x728 resolution, which is why it would be so perfect for the iPad.


*As a side note:* so far the best puzzle game I played on the iPad is Space Chem, it's freakin' amazing. It's an open-ended puzzle game, where it tells you what it wants, and then you set about trying to figure out how to do it. There are thousands of possible ways to solve any one puzzle. You're never limited to figuring out the exact path the developer had in mind to win a puzzle, which is amazing. I haven't ever played any other puzzle game that was in this level.*

[KidCactus]

***As a side note:** so far the best puzzle game I played on the iPad is Space Chem, it's freakin' amazing. It's an open-ended puzzle game, where it tells you what it wants, and then you set about trying to figure out how to do it. There are thousands of possible ways to solve any one puzzle. You're never limited to figuring out the exact path the developer had in mind to win a puzzle, which is amazing. I haven't ever played any other puzzle game that was in this level.*
I had never heard of that game before, so thanks for posting this, the game really is great. Tough, but in a good way.

[AntonThaGreat]

I had never heard of that game before, so thanks for posting this, the game really is great. Tough, but in a good way.

The game is definitely tough and has a steep learning curve. But once you "get it" it's just amazing. Some of the later levels have taken me days to solve.

I still haven't finished it, but I love every damn moment of it!

[KidCactus]

I'm just being introduced to pipelines, and even before that it has taken me quite a while to figure some levels out.

[muddi900]

I have played SpaceChem on the PC and this man is right.

[KidCactus]

Ok, SpaceChem is fun, but it very quickly goes from fun to crazy impossible. At least for me. And watching the level I'm stuck on (Every Day is the First Day) on Youtube makes me realize I probably won't make it much further. But it's awesome to watch videos of the same level, and see the totally different ways people solve them.

Sorry for hijacking your TD thread.

[AntonThaGreat]

Dude, don't worry about it and keep at it. At some point, SpaceChem just clicks, it has a very difficult to grasp gaming mechanic, simply because it's so different from everything we previously expected in puzzle games. I'm pretty much somewhere in the middle of the game, and play little at a time. I did look at some Youtube video solutions, and it helped me learn some new ways to solve puzzles that helped me get through the next few levels.

Just keep at it, it's supposed to be difficult, it's supposed to make your brain churn. Just keep trying, and remember, every puzzle is supposed to take a while to solve. It's not one of those games where every level takes a few minutes to get through. This is where the core value of the game lies.

One thing that really changes everything is that molecules don't have to be shaped in a specific way, they can be straight or bent anywhichway, as long as the atoms are arranged correctly.

[KidCactus]

Last night, it really did click and all of a sudden I made it through the Every Day is the First Day level! I too have watched some Youtube videos, and it does help with figuring out new ways to get around problems. My solution for the level sure is not pretty, or as refined as others I've seen, but it at least works! :D

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6750559/Photo%202012-01-05%2000%2012%2007.png

Edit: The iPad version of SpaceChem has a rather annoying, sometimes game breaking bug. The level saving is screwed up, and exiting/re-entering levels can't really be used on more complex levels, because when you enter the level again the paths might be screwed up due to deleted/changed arrows reverting to old states. Not fun, since that means you always have to finish a level or be prepared to restart from scratch on that level the next time you decide to play. I've emailed the developers, hopefully the can fix this soon.

[AntonThaGreat]

Oh man, sounds like a nasty bug.

You should see some of my solutions, especially before I learned some new techniques to solving levels. Some of them just looked like some fucked-up LSD induced red and blue spiderwebs.

And I love watching solutions to levels after I solved them.. some of the solutions are fucking mind blowing. Such as for one level, where i created a massive aforementioned spiderweb and this one guy just had on line going back and fourth creating all of the molecules. Blew my damn mind.

[KidCactus]

I know what you mean, it's just amazing how "easy" some levels can be solved. :D

Compare my maze in the posted image above to this video of the same level:

dlJmKqi6EEc

[KidCactus]

Got an email from the Spacechem developers yesterday, telling me the gamebreaking bug I ran into is now fixed. Even got a thanks for letting them know about it. :)

So finally I can start playing again!