Game – Dillon’s Rolling Western
Version – Nintendo 3DS
ESRB Rating: ‘E10+’ – Everyone 10 and up
Obtained – Courtesy of Nintendo of America
Do you need another recommendation for a virtual title? Here is very solid action/tower defense game that is fun to play and puts a spin on tower defense games. This game features an armadillo Ranger whose duty is to defend villages from series of attacks from rock-like creatures called Grocks, and has plenty of action/adventure along with strategy in a tower defense. Dillon must prevent the Grocks from reaching the village by setting up weapons in the towers and fighting off Grocks that make it past the towers. Dillon’s Rolling Western is another one of many virtual gems in the eShop. The game came out on February 22nd and game is currently available for $9.99 in the eShop.
Gameplay
The gameplay is unique within the tower defense genre, since Dillon is able to go exploring before the attacks begin, and he even adventures out while the Grocks are attacking. It begins with Dillon arriving at a village who has been under frequent nightly attacks from the Grocks. Dillon gets a full day to explore and quickly become familiar with map (shown on the touch screen) and can collect Scrogs, or scruffle hogs which are the livestock of each village. He can also find ruins, go into mines, build new towers (pre-set locations), repair towers, or equip certain towers with weapons. When the sun is setting, Dillon gets a warning that the Grocks will be attacking, and after a short while the village gate will close. At nightfall, the Grocks come out of their dens to attack the village since they pray on the scrogs for food. Each level has 3 nights of attacks before Dillon goes off to save another village.
While Dillon gets the day to explore the map, he can complete 3 side quests varying from collecting different items, finding a hidden item, defeating a specific number of Grocks, or even having the tower defeating a specific number of Grocks. Dillon receives payments for doing these and also helps him meet the number of star badges to complete each level.
Controls
Dillon’s Rolling Western only utilizes the touch screen as the main source of control. The only other control is the circle pad which is used to guide Dillon in the direction needed or to move him around. All of the menus use a tap to select that option (circle pad to select first) and all of the attacks are done with the stylus. The player simply clicks on the screen then holds and drags towards the edge of the touch screen. The further dragged, the faster (and more powerful) the attack will become. If the player is collecting gems, weaker attacks will gather more gems/stones to collect. At a full charge, the blow will hit neighboring enemies in addition to the one attacked. The direction of attack is also counted to which edge you are holding the stylus at. If you start in the middle and go left, Dillon will attack to the right. This can be used with diagonal attacks. When attacking, the player can also tap the screen to do claw attacks while Dillon is finishing the roll attack, this allows for combos to be dealt between enemies for a quicker victory.
Game modes
There is only the main story mode for Dillon when using the main menu. There is an item list so the player can see all of the different items collected. There are 95 unique items that can be collected from the different maps that Dillon visits. When on the map screen, Dillon can replay any level and enter in the village with any amount up to a pre-set max. This allows the player to concentrate on getting the star badges since early defenses can be set up quickly and additional defenses can be setup with the items/money acquired during his exploration.
Visuals/3D Graphics
The visuals are nicely done in a western setting with plenty of sand, mountains, roads and each element looks nicely done. 3D is not required to be played with, but adds a nice pop out to get a clearer image of what is around Dillon when used. It felt that the sand, wind and items ran over would almost try to pop out at you! A lot of the map features like Grocks and the towers look very nicely done. The rock structures, mines, and the sky are very basic and probably could have been more unique and detailed.
Music/Sounds
The music and sounds are all western themed…. What else were you expecting? Seriously though, the music is simple, but also very enjoyable to listen to. The sounds fit with the western theme and add that element where the player feels like they are in a western. The characters don’t offer any voices which would have made the game a little more enjoyable and not have to click through the text boxes. It would have benefited the change between day and night and help make the villagers more memorable.
Concluding Overall Impressions
Overall, the game is very enjoyable. With playing the level with three different phases before moving to a different level, it helps keep the game fresh. The graphics and sound help make the game immersive and players can easily get lost into trying to find each and every item, mine, ancient ruins, and scrog. The gameplay stays fresh as Dillon is constantly moving around whether he is exploring or the map or defending the village. The western theme is not done often and was nice to fit for this tower defense game. I would recommend this game to any tower defense game fans, or those eager to see what the genre is like.
My score:
4.5 out of 5
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