Beware Planet Earth! (PC) Review

By Javier Jimenez 23.04.2014

Review for Beware Planet Earth! on PC

Tower defense is no new concept, its design solidified by the days of Warcraft III. With the popularity of smartphone touch screen gaming has come a need to modify old designs to work with new input methods, though. Such was the impetus for Plants vs. Zombies, which simplified the tower defense aspect to straight lanes and added the need to tap, tap, tap constantly to gather resources, use items, and attack zombies. Beware Planet Earth! borrows heavily from both of these game designs.

Returning are twisting maze-like lanes, lending complexity to the placement of towers. At the same time, it features tapping (in the form of mouse clicking) to inject more action into the experience. This means enjoying the title is heavily dependent on whether one wants to click on resource generators 100 times over the course of a map to collect "cogs" (the game's primary money equivalent) to defuse various alien abilities with the multi-function "zapper", as well as place towers. It's not a bad design and can lead to frantic gameplay moments, especially when zapping an alien scientist's shield is of critical importance. It tends to draw the game away from a more cerebral tower defense experience, though.

Other aspects of the game straddle this middle of the approach, as well. While there are maze-like paths, as in traditional tower defense, maps are very small, and so success on any given map is less a matter of intelligently placing towers than it is of quickly placing the first few towers and then transitioning towards the action side of things. That means collecting resources quickly, placing towers quickly, and zapping aliens quickly.

Screenshot for Beware Planet Earth! on PC

It's a fun formula, though it doesn't feel entirely original, and that might be the game's largest flaw. It's a lot like many other tower defense games on the market. Which is to say that one's enjoyment will largely depend on how much one wants to play another bitesized tower defense game.

Thankfully, the game's art and music assets are much like the rest of the game: decent stuff. Characters are well drawn in a cute cartoony style; they feature goggly eyes, rounded features, and are very colorful. Again, it is a style reminiscent of Plants vs. Zombies. Even clicking on things reminds one of said game, with playful pops and dings. There is some nice background music, as well, to keep the wheels rolling.

This all sounds rosey, but there are a few hitches in the experience. Unfortunately, Beware Planet Earth! lacks many of the finer features that define a good tower defense game. There is no pause function to stop the action and allow on to place towers in peace. Nor is there a fast forward feature to speed up slow action, even at the end of a map when victory is assured. Such quibbles pop up time and again - a nagging reminder that this isn't a top tier game.

Screenshot for Beware Planet Earth! on PC

Cubed3 Rating

6/10
Rated 6 out of 10

Good

While not some earthshattering ray of light from the heavens, here to show us the way to new and better gaming vistas, Beware Planet Earth! is a bitesized tower defense morsel for anyone who needs another tower defense game in their life. It's a bit outside the mold, if only a little, with its action oriented mechanics, which helps keep things feeling more fresh than stale. Fair quality art and sound assets help round out the experience, making it a solid purchase.

Developer

Lightmare

Publisher

Lightmare

Genre

Strategy

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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