Unless you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you may not be too familiar with Fieldrunners.  The game, created by Subatomic Studios, can be simply described as a tower defense game.  However with the (over-)abundance of the genre available on the iTunes App store as well as an incredible 2008 holiday gaming season, can Fieldrunners hold your attention?  Read on for the review.

As stated above, Fieldrunners is a straight-to-the-point tower defense game.  Not familiar with the up-and-coming genre?  I would suggest taking a few moments and playing the uber-popular, genre-defining – and free – Desktop Tower Defense first to get a handle on the play mechanics.  The game genre is based around the simple principle of preventing enemy troops from crossing one side of the field to the other by building defense towers in between.

Fieldrunners utilizes this literal definition of the genre and translates it into a bite-size chewable morsel that can be picked up and played at a moment’s notice.

I begin my play through of the game by navigating the simple, straightforward title screen.  The music is catchy, repetitive and straightforward and mimics the theme songs of great Eighties war flicks like Top Gun and Hunt for Red October:  Yes, this is definitely a game about missiles and armies.  Map selection is simple enough: I choose difficulty, map, and play mode, either Classic (100 waves) or Endless.  Then, the mayhem begins.

Fieldrunners throws me right into the mix.  I am dealt a minimal amount of resources from which I can buy weapon towers with only 10 seconds before the first wave arrives.  The rapid start is symbolic of the entire game; either you make decisions quickly enough, or you can fall behind at an alarming rate.

However, the effectiveness of the game is that I do not have to constantly fidget with the screen to enjoy it.  My fingers aren’t skinny.  I have lost many a battle with my iPhone only to realize that there are different ways to better utilize my thick thumbs with the screen.  After I have dragged my weapons onto the screen I can analyze the waves as they arrive, watching the lilliputian army men either make their way across or become pulverized somewhere halfway through.  This allows for a few seconds of breathing room as I stare at the war zone unfolding before me.  I take solace in knowing that I can watch as much as I must act with the screen (sometimes even more).

Tower defense gamers generally fall into two categories: attackers and maze builders.  Attackers utilize their resources by building towers when necessary, often creating traps to divert armies on-the-fly and keep the waves on the field as long as possible.  I find myself almost instinctively falling into the latter category, maze builder.  I litter the field with as many low-cost towers as possible, sending the waves along an giant maze of deadly bullets.  Over time I build the maze longer, upgrading the cannons and replacing them with oil slicks, rockets, and electrocution towers.  The joy I feel in seeing the men make it only half-way through before they are turned into dust is carnal pleasure.

The visuals are clean and crisp when zoomed out, and only slightly blurry when zoomed in.  They remind me of a cross between the WarCraft and StarCraft games of Blizzard fame.  I am half-tempted to continue tapping on a sprite until he makes a random awkward comment about my leadership skills.

The soundtrack includes the prerequisite machine gun fire, electrocution volts, and the splatter of digital bodies along the grass or tile fields.  While simple and predictable, it serves its purpose by satisfying our internal urges to hear little digital men be blown to little digital smithereens.

I manage to survive the first mode with only a few little warriors making it through, allowing me to unlock the second field and some added modes.  While there are not as many features as one would hope, the smaller price point of the game, $4.99, allows me to overlook this.  Besides, Subatomic Studios promises regular updates to the game that could include more levels and game modes.

What I liked:

• The easy pick-up-and-play nature of the game and its extremely short learning curve makes this a fun casual game.  However, the amount of strategy that is actually needed to finish a field can more than satisfy a dedicated gamer.
• The pause feature is something all games should include.  I play my iPhone in short spurts, not long gaming sessions.  Being able to simply hit the home button to pause is fantastic.
• The sound effect placement is spot-on.  I loved hearing the little men splatter.

What I didn’t like:

• The sprites were slightly blurry when scaled up.  It was not a showstopper, just an observation.  Most players will not even notce.
• The lack of depth in modes is dissappointing.  As I stated above, the publisher promises updates, they just can’t come fast enough.
• There are only 4 types of towers.  As tower defense games have progressed, so has the need for tower variety.

In summary, it can be pretty easy to become addicted to a game like Fieldrunners.  The ability to play in short spurts allows for one field play through to last minutes, hours, or even days.  I continue to have a great time playing it, trying to best my score on each play through.  This is the iPhone game to have thus far, friends.  Buy it, and fall in love with the genre all over again.

Fieldrunners is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch from Subatomic Studios for $4.99.

All images courtesy Subatomic Studios.