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Ultimately, we don\u2019t ask that much from our sequels\u2014just that they be bigger, better and, by all that\u2019s holy, not be Sex in the City 2<\/em>. By those standards, Kingdom Rush: Frontiers<\/em><\/a>, the follow-up to one of the most awesome and beloved tower defense games on the iOS platform, passes with flying artillery shells. But you may find yourself asking, as you fend off frantic waves of familiar foes: Is this a sequel or merely an expansion?<\/p>\n

First glance suggests the latter. Your four basic tower types (barracks, marksman, mage and artillery) have returned intact and the Gnome store looks exactly as it did in the original game, with nary a new item to purchase. The clever and cartoonish art style, right down to the dopey catch phrases your units utter as you place and upgrade them (\u201cFully loaded\u201d) is exactly as charming and hilarious as you remember it. <\/p>\n

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Play past the initial levels, and you\u2019ll discover there are clever nuances that go beyond the new jungle and subterranean environments. For instance, the fourth-level towers have diversified in interesting and strategic ways. Upgrading your mage tower into a necromancer\u2019s tower offers the multiple advantages of creating a skeletal army from fallen foes and sloshing the path with toxic green goo that\u2019s a hell of a lot more effective at damaging enemies than your ubiquitous meteor shower. The only thing that tops it is cranking out a mobile AT-AT-like missile launcher when your artillery units hit level four. So much more effective and visceral than opting for the drumbeat of the silly Dwaarp tower. <\/p>\n

Heroes are again a big piece of the action, but this time, you\u2019re buffing their abilities and leveling them up across missions rather than within them\u2014and man, what a useful and welcome change that is. Less welcome is the fact that most of the heroes roster is again locked away behind an in-app purchase wall, and some of those IAPs seem pretty steep. ($6 for a hero unit? Ouch.) It\u2019s certainly possible to beat the main campaign by just max-leveling one of the three free heroes\u2014go with Cronon, the jungle dude with the falcon and wildebeest herd–but it\u2019s hard to escape the sense that you\u2019re missing something by not turning back the tides with a Davy Jones knock-off or a death-dealing dragon. <\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the levels in Frontiers<\/em> cleverly toss curveball grenades into your otherwise rock-solid strategies. Enemies unexpectedly hack new paths through the jungle in the middle of a level or scale up from the depths of the abyss to duck behind your defenses. Others teleport, resurrect fallen comrades or mutate your own troops to turn against you. There\u2019s rarely a time when you\u2019ll cakewalk through any level, and plenty of times where a level that seems to be humming along nicely suddenly goes off the rails under an unexpected enemy rush.<\/p>\n

And just as before, you\u2019ll spend a fair amount of time in the midgame grinding levels to score cash to purchase items\u2014freeze bombs, extra hearts, the devastatingly reliable atomic Big Bertha–that\u2019ll help you survive that level you keep failing. Doubling back to earn stars in each level\u2019s heroic challenges to upgrade your units is still an effective strategy. Well, at least until you hit the final subterranean level. Man, that final boss is beyond cheap. <\/p>\n

When the last wave of enemies has finally been repelled, Frontiers<\/em> delivers on its promise, breaking the Kingdom Rush<\/em> formula into a few new territories. I can\u2019t help feeling that there\u2019s still more that could be explored here\u2014here\u2019s hoping Ironhide\u2019s already brewing plans to tackle the challenge. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pros:<\/strong>
\n+ Everything you liked about the first game returns
\n+ New level four tower choices are a blast\u2014necromancy!
\n+ Sneaky new enemy tactics keep you on your toes, er, fingers<\/p>\n

Cons:<\/strong>
\n– Most of the hero units are only available as in-app purchases
\n– Not quite as much new here as you\u2019d expect<\/p>\n

Game Info:<\/strong>
\nPlatform: Reviewed on iPad, also available for iPhone and iPod touch
\nPublisher: Ironhide Game Studio
\nDeveloper: Ironhide Game Studio
\nRelease Date: 6\/6\/2013
\nGenre: Tower Defense Strategy
\nAge Rating: 9+
\nPlayers: 1
\nSource: Game purchased by reviewer<\/p>\n