Ionball 2: Tower Assault – how to make a DLC fix everything

When reviewing Ionball 2: Ionstorm recently, as fun as it was there were a few things that detracted from the experience. The camera angle was off-putting, the visual effects could obscure gameplay, and there was a limited amount of music. And as of yesterday, each one of those things can be taken off of the list of faults, thanks to a free DLC – Ionball 2: Tower Assault.

There are now a choice of camera angles, and going with “classic” puts the camera more overhead – not entirely above, but close enough that those missed ricochets will now be down to playing ability rather than camera angle confusion. This alone freshens the whole experience; combined with the “minimal FX” setting removing explosion effects, and you have a game that has taken a step back towards the raw gameplay of the classic bat-and-ball titles it is paying homage too, and is far, far stronger for it.

As a cherry on top, there are also a new selection of tunes playing, still following the original release’s dance style but adding some welcome variation to the few tracks heard so many times before.

However, as the update’s title might suggest, it isn’t just about adding in some more options for gameplay, but is a full on expansion. The Tower Assault of the title is a 30 level survival mode, played using the same graphical style as the original but with a few tweaks. All upgrades are done via in-game drops, which fall with extreme regularity; this keeps things moving very quickly, with effects such as the bat suddenly firing a rocket or the ball projecting electricity while you try to collect coins as they drop.

While it is the same core game at heart, the new Tower Assault levels feels faster paced, yet are more forgiving thanks to the upgrades… and in my personal opinion are a stronger experience than the original levels (fun though they are themselves).

Ionball 2: Tower Assault is a free DLC for Ionball 2: Ionstorm, which is available now on Steam, Bundle Stars, Indie Gala, Green Man Gaming, and Amazon.