Arel Wars

The key to making an interesting game is striking the right balance between concept and gameplay. Just because we've seen it all before, that doesn't mean we're not willing to see it all again if it's done well.

That's a philosophy that Arel Wars takes to heart. It's a mish-mash of genre ideas and gameplay, mixing aspects of tower defence, JRPG, and lane-based strategy into an occasionally beguiling but ultimately flawed experience.

You start the game by choosing one of the three hero characters on offer, each with its own skill set and story. Vincent is a human all-rounder, Helba is a melee-focused Buster, and Juno a magic-spewing scantily clad elf.

Your choice determines how you work through the game, but there are three separate save slots, meaning you can try out all of the characters without losing any progress. Once you've decided, you're dropped into the first battle.

Two castles face off against each other across an expanse, joined together by two lanes. It's your job to destroy your opponent's structure before he destroys yours, sending out soldiers along the lanes to beat back attackers and smash up the enemy base.

Sending out units costs mana, which replenishes after time, and you have a maximum number of soldiers at your command. During a battle you can upgrade your population, mana, and attacks, but at a cost. Balancing upgrades and troop production is key to victory.

You can also send your hero into the fray. Your hero is much tougher than regular units, and will respawn after a while if he's hacked to death. However, sending him out leaves your home base unguarded, so deploying him is a calculated risk.

Each level also has a quest. These range from smashing your opponent within a time limit to surviving the encounter without taking damage to your base. The rewards are impressive, too, and add another layer of consideration to your battle plan.

At the end of the fight, you can upgrade your troops and your hero's special powers using cash and XP you've earned. A reasonably unobtrusive freemium system lets you spend real world cash on more powerful items, too.

Using the right units is key to success, and learning the strengths and weaknesses of your army will set you in good stead.

More often than not, though, the best stratagem involves spamming out units as quickly as possible until you've built up a mass of bodies on either lane. Eventually, through sheer weight of numbers, you'll break through to the enemy base and start smashing.

It's a tactic that will work time after time, turning the game into a rather dull exercise in repetition. Battles come down to who can get his units out the quickest, and it's a template the game repeats ad nauseum.

It's a shame, because Arel Wars is a likeable enough title, its mix of styles creating an interesting foundation for its action. Too often, though, that action's like stumbling down a dead end.