Forces of Nature (iOs) Review
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“Can nature make a comeback?”
Forces of Nature is an interesting new breed of tower defense, featuring a plucky lead character named Sprout. In a time when nature has been completely overcome by robots, only a plant can save the day. As his name implies, Sprout is plant-type character whose leafy arms can really take those robots down a notch. His powers stem from his oneness with nature, giving him the ability to sprout other plants to aid him in his defense of the Tree of Life.
The basic gameplay in Forces of Nature is a blend of traditional tower defense and a 2D platformer. Unlike traditional tower defense games, Sprout is able to move around and fight the enemy robots personally. Unlike a traditional side scroller, you don’t have much control over that action. Sprout’s long leafy arms automatically snap out to hit enemy robots whenever they come close, providing his main offense. Sprout can also dash past enemies for a rear attack by double tapping the side of the screen, but it’s rather imprecise, and often leaves you in the middle of enemies rather than behind them as planned.
Like any good tower defense game, Sprout has a number of tools at his disposal beyond his own fists. He can sprout other plants to mount his defense, using naturally collected water droplets to pay for them. As is usually the case, you’ll have to strike a good balance between the cheap yet weak plants that can be sent out quickly, and the tougher plants that you need to save up for. Either way, you’ll have to throw Sprout into the fray as well most of the time, as there simply isn’t usually enough water droplets and time to defeat all the robots before they reach the tree. If the tree is attacked, you’ll lose the level and need to play again.
I love the concept of Forces of Nature; it speaks to conservation, it’s fairly unique, and it works well with the great artwork that makes up the game. In practice, things don’t always work as precisely as you’d like them to, but it definitely offers a whole lot of gameplay for its low price. Part of that is due to the many levels available, and part of it is due to the fact that it’s a challenging game. Between having to repeat levels to get past them, and wanting to work on a perfect three star rating for each level, players get a lot of bang for their buck with this unique take on tower defense.