Fieldrunners
| Fieldrunners | |
|---|---|
 App Store icon | |
| Developer(s) | Subatomic Studios I-play (Mobile) |
| Publisher(s) | Subatomic Studios Hands-On Mobile (Mobile) |
| Platform(s) | iOS Android Nintendo DSi (DSiWare) PlayStation Portable PlayStation 3 mobile phone Roku Gametree TV Chrome Web Store PC, Mac OS, Linux,[1] |
| Release date(s) | iOS October 5, 2008 Android July 1, 2011 Steam May 24, 2012 Chrome Web Store October 25, 2011 Nintendo DSi PSP
December 23, 2009 |
| Genre(s) | Tower defense |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Fieldrunners is a tower defense video game developed for several platforms. Originally released on October 1, 2008 as an exclusive iOS title, the game was later ported to Nintendo DSi, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and mobile phones. It was released on the Android platform in July 2011, on the Amazon Appstore and Android Market. On October 25, 2011, it was ported to HTML5 by Gradient Studios and Bocoup[2] and released on the Chrome Web Store with the first level, Grasslands, playable for free. It is the first release of developer Subatomic Studios.
Gameplay
Unlike in other tower defense games, turrets can be placed anywhere and the enemies will go around them, forcing them to walk along any path the player makes. It is not possible to block the path however. Fieldrunners offers three types of gameplay: Classic, Extended and Endless. Playing in Classic and Extended modes limits the number of rounds in which the player must defend to 100. Classic only lets players build the original four towers, Gatling, Goo, Missile, and Tesla (except Skyway which substitutes Laser for Tesla and Frostbite which substitutes Ice for Goo). Extended mode adds the two new towers, Flame Tower and Mortar Tower (except Skyway which adds Tesla instead of Mortar). In Endless mode, the player may defend indefinitely. In any mode, the player may play in Easy, Medium, or Hard mode.
Maps
In Fieldrunners, there were initially three maps from which a player could choose: Grasslands, Crossroads, and Drylands. Grasslands is an open field in which enemies cross the screen from left to right, while Crossroads is set indoors where the player must also defend enemies going from top to the bottom of the screen. Drylands has three entry points, top to bottom, and one each at the top and bottom of the screen going left to right. Two additional maps have been added: Frostbite and Skyway. Frostbite has four entry points for soldiers. Skyway is similar to Grasslands, with the exception of the former having obstacles already in the map. A recent update provided three new maps: Crystal Caves, MudSlide, and LavaFlow, along with the Shotgun Tower, Plasma Tower, and Lava Tower.
Reception
Fieldrunners has received generally positive reviews, with the PSP version scoring 81% at the review aggregate website Metacritic.[3] IGN gave the game an eight out of ten rating, and highly recommended it.[4] Select Start Media was highly critical of the PC port, however expressed enjoyment of the mobile releases.
Of the iPhone version, Stuart Dredge of Pocket Gamer noted its "clever controls and cartoony visuals", calling it "the best Tower Defense game on iPhone so far".[5]
The PSP version of Fieldrunners scored a high 81/100 on Metacritic.[6] Reviews for the iPad Fieldrunners HD version have been positive.[7]
References
- ↑ "Fieldrunners — Ubuntu Apps Directory". Apps.ubuntu.com. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- ↑ Kazemi, Darius (2011-07-27). "Fieldrunners WebGL Particle System Demo". Bocoup. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ↑ "Fieldrunners (psp) reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ↑ Buchanan, Levi (2008-11-24). "Fieldrunners Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
- ↑ Stuart Dredge (2008-11-12). "Fieldrunners Review". PocketGamer.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
- ↑ "Fieldrunners for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- ↑ "Fieldrunners marches onto iPad at launch | Fieldrunners for iPad news | iPad". Pocket Gamer. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2013-08-17.