I am new to the whole 'Tower Defense' gaming genre, but I must say I can see the appeal after downloading the iBomber Defense game by Chilingo for my iOS device.
The Lowdown: The object of the game is to strategically place your weapons in key locations to stop the enemy from reaching your base. Your weapons consist of guns, cannons, anti-air artillery, and other tools to stop the enemy. For different levels, there are different forces taking different routes to attack your base, so placing your defense takes some thinking. It's not a chess game, so you won't stress yourself out. But as you progress in the game, the amount of waves increase, so just plopping down weapons randomly will have you repeating levels constantly, and that can be time consuming as the amount of waves increase.
The enemy is attacking your defenses as well, so you will need to keep an eye on your weapon's levels so you can repair their damage. The more defenses you place, the more damage can be done, so you can't just set up your strategy, and go grab a bite to eat because your defenses will get worn down. If a defense is destroyed by the enemy, you will have to pay to use that spot again. So it's best that you pay attention as the level progresses. If you do get overpowered, you do build up the opportunity to replay a wave instead of restarting the entire round. But your replays are limited, so you can't depend on them for every wave. Another good feature iBomber Defense is that you can speed up play with the 'fast-forward' feature, so you're not sitting for too long waiting for some serious action.
I downloaded the iPad version and the graphics look good and there are some nice options including the ability to add my own soundtrack to the game. Finally, with any Chilingo game, you can hook up with other players, view leader boards and share achievements by creating a Crystal account with iOS Game Center support available as well.
My Verdict: The iBomber defense game for iPhone and iPad (OS 3.0 and up) is $2.99 in iTunes...and is worth every penny. It will definitely keep you occupied and will up the ante and actually get you thinking about where you will set up your defenses to defend your base from the enemy...while waiting in the reception area.
