Island Defense is a fun hybrid iPad game by Alexander Dubrovsky and released by indie cross-platform game producer Fortune Games. Dubrovsky is known in the English-speaking game world for his debut iPhone game called “Sea Battle Strategy” that was initially released in Russian.
Island Defense is fundamentally a tower defense game, but it incorporates essential elements of parking games as well. Players must defend their tiny island against waves of invading ships armed with increasingly powerful guns, missiles, cannons and lasers.
The game starts with a peaceful-seeming getaway island that you eventually transform into an indestructible fortress or lose the game trying. Wave after wave of invaders encroach upon your island, and only a clever strategy and careful management of resources will keep your island safe. Each wave of enemies is tougher than the last in order to keep up the challenging gameplay as the player advances in level throughout the game.
The player makes money and earns other bonuses by guiding ships and planes past dangerous obstacles and then parking them on the island, but the real action is in using that money to execute the tower defense strategy required to protect the island itself.
Many kinds of tower are available, including the usual gun towers as well as towers armed with cannons, missiles or lasers. All tower types can be upgraded, and damaged towers can be rebuilt. Players eventually have the ability to unlock new islands, but only after successfully beating each increasingly difficult challenge as they progress through the game.
The game’s graphics and sound effects are very well done. The game interface is setup nicely and definitely does not interfere with gameplay. The game requires iPads running iOS 5.0 or better and is highly recommended for anybody who loves tower defense games. The game currently is only available to those in the UK app store.
