Game Reviews

Cubemen 2

Star onStar onStar onStar halfStar off
|
iOS
| Cubemen 2
Get
Cubemen 2
|
iOS
| Cubemen 2

It's rare that a tower defence game can really get the adrenaline flowing. Most are too simple, with the set waves and paths leading to climaxes that are utterly inevitable.

Cubemen 2 is different. It prides strategy over predetermination, and is all the more exciting for it.

There's more than a hint of Frozen Synapse in the stark visuals and waypoints, too, and while Cubemen 2 never reaches those heights it's still an entertaining, tactical defence game that's as much about outthinking your opponent as it is spamming out powerful units.

Cube them on the beaches

At its core the game is about defending your base from invaders. These come from any one of a number of spawn points around the map you're fighting across, meaning you'll need to keep a close eye on things to make sure there isn't a wave of death wandering up from an undefended direction.

Each level gives you different units to play with. Sometimes you have to defend your base with gun-toting cube grunts, while at other times the only weapons you have at your disposal are soldiers who turn into walls and mines when they're placed.

Everything is controlled with taps. You tap on squares on the grid-based levels to send units there, and tap on units to give them extra commands and upgrade them. Each enemy you kill gives you extra cash to spend on upgrades or new units.

Rather than being flat, the levels are made out of a variety of cubes, giving you vantage points and choke spots to play with. There are no strict lanes, either, meaning attacks can come from numerous directions.

Cube base

Cubemen 2 feels surprisingly fresh for a game that's essentially a hotchpotch of old ideas, but it blends everything together so seamlessly that while you're playing you barely notice that you've been here before a hundred times.

There's more, though, because you can play online and build your own levels as well, adding even more longevity to a game that's packed with content. There are different game modes like Capture the Flag and a territory-grabbing Skirmish mode to get your teeth into, too.

Cubemen 2 is a feature-packed game, then, and it's just about got the gameplay chops to back it up. It's not perfect, and there are some cruel difficulty spikes, but if you want a defence game with a little more strategic depth than most you really ought to give this a go.

Cubemen 2

It might lack a little glitz and glamour, but Cubemen 2 is a satisfyingly deep tactical shooter all the same
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.