The Lone Gamer

Fast Tube by Casper
If this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke… Whoa.

I’ve been having tons of fun with Elder Scrolls V Skyrim on PC, with various mods tweaking the game and visuals, making it new and refreshed with every new install. But here, it seems, is a mod that is set to not just tweak gameplay style but transport it to a totally new genre style. Tower Defense, Skyrim-style? The Ultimate Tower Defense Mod by aTittyKitty will put you in command of a castle, which you can then upgrade with various defenses to withstand various deadly assaults. You can do everything from setting up barricades, hiring soldiers to man the walls, getting farmers and workers to gather resources and upgrade your troops’ equipment and weapons. Best of all, you can jump into the fray yourself aside from just standing back and watching your peons do all the work.

According to the mod trailer, you can expect to have every enemy available in the game coming at your abode, so this should be something sweet. I mean, if it’s REAL. It WAS, after all, posted on April 1… but the channel owner has said that it isn’t a joke. So, we’ll see. Man, this could be freakin’ awesome. Once again, I have to say… Skyrim on PC is the only way to play.

Flick ‘em. FLICK ‘EM ALL!

My latest iPhone game acquisition is Monster Mayhem from Chillingo, and let me tell you it’s fingerrifically fun from day one. MM is the latest in the Castle Defense genre- where players take the role of an unseen, well-nigh omnipotent observer who lays waste to attacking enemies through various weapons, defenses or effects initiated via direct finger swipes or taps onto the screen. In Mayhem you take the role of the Gravekeeper to a massive cemetery full of restless souls and slavering (if kinda creepily cute) monsters. The beasts have begun revolting (as opposed to just being revolting) and are throwing themselves in hordes at the gates of the cemetery. It’s your duty to keep them bottled in, by any means necessary.

The ‘means’ includes an arsenal of weapons that includes your handy-dandy blade (which lets you go mad with ginzu-frenzy on enemies), a pistol, shotgun and machine gun (great fun), grenades, a flame thrower and more. If all else fails, just NUKE the whole screen!

What Monster Mayhem has going for it in its young but crowded genre is a wonderful, cute and polished art style and incredibly responsive and cool controls. Flicking at enemies to cut them up into pieces with your blade is damn fun, and you do have quite a bit of precision with your attacks since at times you must avoid certain things onscreen to get at your actual target. There’s a large variety of playfully SD versions of monsters, from zombies to Frankenstein’s Monsters to even hopping Chinese ghosts and Japanese Kappa, plus a few screen-hogging bosses to take on and unload with your arsenal.

If you’re totally tired out of Castle Defense games, this won’t change your mind but if you’re like me and love this stuff, this is a winner. It’s got spit and polish, to-the-pixel controls and great Plants vs. Zombies style and flavor which makes it worth the 2 dollar price. I’m gonna be lovin’ this lots for a long time.