New Highly Addictive Tower Defense Game ‘Fieldrunners’ for the iPhone
Fieldrunners (AppStore) by Subatomic Studios is the latest Tower Defense game in the App Store, priced at $4.99.
TD games are all about making sure the enemy doesn’t reach the exit, to stop them from reaching the exit players must place towers along the enemy’s path in order to eliminate them.
The fun comes from the challenge of facing a variety of enemies, which possess different strengths and weaknesses. You’ll spend hours experimenting with different tower configurations, looking for the one that helps you last the longest.
Fieldrunners is by far the best looking TD game I’ve seen on the iPhone, for such a polished game I was surprised it didn’t have sound, the developer did indicate this will be added in future updates.
In Fieldrunners players will have access to four tower types.
- Gatling Tower: Great tower for quickly constructing defenses. Dirt cheap and surprisingly powerful. What this tower lacks in range it makes up for in its low price and damage.
- Goo Tower: This tower is a must for those sticky situations when you need to slow a fieldrunner down. This tower reduces enemy movement rate and the effect increases with each upgrade.
- Missile Tower: A great defense against air units. The missile tower’s explosive damage hits multiple targets at once. This tower has a very long range.
- Lightning Tower: An ultimate weapon of devastation. This tower fires a single bolt of lightning that incinerates most fieldrunners in seconds.
Developer’s Description
“Descend into the world of Fieldrunners, the most anticipated and visually stunning game in mobile Tower Defense history! Defend and control the field using a diverse selection of upgradeable towers in a limitless adventure, using a wide array of tactics and strategies against countless waves of unique land and air combatants!Hours of entertainment and replayable challenges!Enjoy a growing experience through free content updates!Do you have what it takes to dominate the fieldrunners and rise to the top as the ultimate Tower Defense master?”
Screenshots
Gameplay Video
October 6th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Just bought the game. It’s awesome! I was skeptical at first with only one map, but I noticed they have 3 difficulty levels and are going to update with new maps so I figured I can play these levels in the mean time. I’m so glad I did!! It’s really addicting and the medium level is pretty challenging; I haven’t even gotten to the difficult level and spent all day yesterday…I tried to promise myself to put it down…but I couldn’t!! I highly recommend the game!!!
October 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
@Sara – Thanks for dropping by to share your experience with us, it’s always great to get opinions from other iPhone and iPod touch gamers. I totally agree with you, even though there is no sound, the game is just so fun and addictive. The longest I’ve lasted on medium was 40 waves, still trying to beat that record 8\
October 7th, 2008 at 6:29 am
That game looks so awesome. Just seeing those bodies pile up running that gauntlet of death gives me the chills. The game appears highly addictive trying to figure out the weapons strategies. It’s a shame it doesn’t have some option for sound, but for a first edition, it really looks like it will be a lot of fun to play. At the first wave, it didn’t seem like any of the enemy could make it through that weapons fire and I was so surprised when a couple of the enemy forces got through in later waves. Glad you posted that video. I could spend hours watching how weapon placement takes down the various opponents. Looking for the perfect strategy could take an awful long time.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am
@Constable Odo – Yea I’ve already wasted enough hours as it is on this game, more than I wanted, lol. The strategies I’ve tried so far…
Maze – requires more Gatling Towers to make the maze walls so you don’t get to upgrade your towers as often, and helicopters escape easier through the middle since your defenses are so spread out.
Straight Path – All towers are setup along the path towards the exit, less towers but you get to upgrade more often and all your towers hit incoming helicopters.
You’re totally right Constable Odo, the strategies seem endless in this game, I’m still figuring out where best to position Goo Towers, it seems like they work extremely well with Missile Towers in combination, since Goo Towers cause enemies to stack onto of each other making the Missile Tower’s splash damage all the more effective.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:15 am
This game is just great! I´m totally addicted
Been playing it since yesterday now, and I can´t seem to get past wave 56, those damn helicopters are just too many! I´ve been using the maze stratgey so far, so maby I´ll try something else …
October 8th, 2008 at 1:18 am
@Atle – wow, you’re on the 56th wave? I usually get stuck around the 40s still, sigh, I’m sooo noob, hehe.
Do you use goo turrents in your setup?
I was thinking maybe my money would be better spent on guns that actually did damage rather than just slow them. So many things to try, so little time
October 8th, 2008 at 10:55 am
play in easy mode and a labirinth or a maze
i got till the 100 wave in easy mode n the game got over
October 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am
@mrinal – Good to know there is actually an end to the game, I thought it would just keep going on and on.
Using the Maze setup last night I got to level 99 on medium and died on the last wave, I had to choose between sleep or fieldrunners, I chose fieldrunners, now I feel like total crap today, addictive games for the win
October 12th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
got the game last night and wasted a couple hours today on it. Got through 100th wave on medium with about 16 more healths to go. The best strategy I found is to make a maze up and down the map using a bare minimum of Gatling guns. Once the maze is extended up and down the map a couple of times, replace the guns in the middle level with tesla coils and goo shooters. always upgrade the goo shooters as the game progresses. then just sit back and watch the bastards fry. One extra tactic you can use when you’re dealing with a tough fieldrunner making its way through is to delete a gatling gun near the entrance of the maze and add one to the exit thereby forcing it to make its way through the maze again.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:30 am
@Hzilla – Wow, pretty awesome you beat the game on medium mode, I’ll definitely give your strategy a try.
What level have you reached in Hard mode?
October 13th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I beat medium and I’ve made it to level 58 on hard then I lost. This game is addicting. I was doing well on hard with gats and rockets stacked by goo guns in a zig zag in the middle. I cashed some rockets for lightning and it did me in. I know beating hard mode will involve tricking the fieldrunners by blocking their exit right before they reach the end of your maze
October 13th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
@dj – I recently beat medium without using the trick to make the guys run back after selling a tower behind them. I’d like to find a way to beat Hard mode without using the trick also. It sounds like you got pretty far already, level 58 on hard, that’s really good.
I’ve noticed when I create mazes I’m more vulnerable to helicopters, but when I make a smaller maze down the middle the faster units tend to get through easier since they travel a shorter distance.
Right now I’m experimenting with different tower combos, I’m going to try a purely goo/lightning and then I’ll try goo/rockets only and see how they compare.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
incredibly addicting game. Can finish Medium, but not sure how points are scored? My friend beat my high score but I’m not sure how???? I’m wondering if one gets more points if they’re killed faster? Or with type of tower killed them? Hmmm.
Create a full maze that requires them to zig-zag (as opposed to having them go down a runway) and selling the tower at the end to make them go back through it, giving them double the dose. I make sure that all the towers in the middle of the field are missiles & electric. I can easily win in Medium, but wish I could figure a trick to get all the Helicopters, i want the High Score!!!!
October 30th, 2008 at 11:31 am
[...] many readers of Gizmodo and Kotaku have pointed out that the game looks very much like a tower defense [...]
November 20th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Just bought it last night, after seeing that the 1.1 update came through with an additional map and sound effects. I used to be addicted to Desktop Tower Defense, so I had some strategy ideas coming in. So far I’ve beaten medium level (first map) with only 5 lives remaining.
The strategy of deleting one tower near the beginning and adding one to the end is called “juggling” in DTD circles, since it looks like you are juggling the enemies back and forth through your maze. I’m not a big fan of this strategy, as I prefer to build the maze most efficient at killing all the enemies, but sometimes you have to do it. I have yet to juggle enemies in Fieldrunners, though I expect I’ll probably have to try that to get through the Hard skill level.
My strategy (on the grassy map) is to build a tight maze that takes the runners up and down repeatedly. most of the towers will be gats, but every time I come to the center row, I put a rocket tower in the very center, with a goo on one side of it and a tesla on the other. This way, helicopters have to fly over the most powerful towers, and runners have to pass by the most powerful towers more than once as they snake through the maze.
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:41 am
[...] OS X Reality: New Highly Addictive Tower Defense Game Fieldrunners for the iPhone (With screenshots and video) [...]
November 24th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
How do i get new maps? Like what do i need to do to get them?
All i have is crossroads and the grassone.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
@MuffinSecks – You aren’t missing any, the new update only added crossroads. It’s a pretty neat map.
November 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
so we only have 2 maps?
hope they are making more
@Ironcell
November 25th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
@MuffinSecks – You never know, they might add more, Subatomic has been pretty good about updating their game.
These two maps will be more than enough to keep me busy for the next few weeks, I’ve been trying all sorts of strategies.
You might me interested in this game called Zombie Attack!
It’s a tower defense game with a scary twist.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I can beat it on hard with 18 lives left. I haven’t played the 2nd map yet but I am looking forward to it. I cannot for the life of me get a perfect score on hard yet. The best strategy I have found is a juggling one with as much fire power in the middle as helicopters get through. Upgrading is also very important and its best to up grade as you go. I never upgrade gatling towers. I think the best defense is below.
X = any tower, tho best to have tesla on an edge and missle in middle along with as many goos as possible. You want the least amount of gatling towers but its tough to get everything build before the strong attackers come and you have to begin juggling.
A = gatling tower that you buy and sell to have the attackers juggle back.
| or- = side of the map
________
| |
XXXX |
| X |
| XXXX XA|
entrance XXXX X exit
| XXXX XA|
| |
————-
November 26th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
ug my diagram spacing got messed up….
December 6th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Just wondering how other people are doign in terms of records in this game – On the normal map (original) I complete easy with 20 health left, medium with 19 health (damn helicopter on level 99, 1 always gets through), and completed hard with 13 health left – It took me a long time to figure out the optimal strategy, and for the regular field I am pretty sure this is as close to optimal as you can get.
I knew my math degree would come in handy for something!
On the crossroads map, I just completed hard for the first time last night with only 6 health left… much harder than the regular and I feel I am far from optimal.
I would love to discuss tehniques and strategies on this addictive game, feel free to send me an email with your records so we can all find the optimal strategy!
Chris
December 15th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I got to level 185 on easy and im confident that 185 is the highest possible that you can get to . If anyone proves me wrong comment on my youtube account– xKeViN12
December 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
@Chris – I got to level 185 on easy and im confident that 185 is the highest possible that you can get to . If anyone proves me wrong comment on my youtube account– xKeViN12
December 20th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I just got my ipod touch 2g yesterday, and the first application I bought was fieldrunners. This game is intense, hours of fun and very addicting. I’m starting off on easy slowly moving up, once I hit 100 rounds on easy I’ll probably go on to medium mode.
My technique is the maze, as is most – What I do is put the gatling guns on the outside, and the rockets in the middle parts so my rockets aren’t wasted when the helis come. Great game – I highly recommend it to ANYONE!
December 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Totally agree. Awesome game and far too addictive. I was supposed to be working today. My tactics: Maze, with gatling guns down the centre. They’re more effective than rockets against the helicopters (which seems counter-intuitive)
January 11th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
The maze, feat a dash of juggling is definatly a killer, but my experience says that the vertical maze is a waste of firepower – the horizontal maze on the other hand. Make the maze just long enough so your able to juggle any of the incoming runners, and center all firepower along the main aisle, primarily a combo of tesla and goo, with a dash of missiles. I’ve beaten the first map (grasslands?) on all the diffuculties without breaking a sweat. Hate level 99 though. Any good strategies for crossroads in hard-mode anyone? Can’t make it further than half way through … Arrgh
January 12th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Well, in response to Kevin’s comments I got to level 189 on easy. I basically had 4 rows of alternating lightening and goo towers in the center of the field from 3 slots back from the opening doorway to 1 slot from the entry to the base. All towers were leveled up. That created a center rectangle that was hard on the helicopters while allowing me to use the “juggling” strategy. Then on level 185 I sold off a bunch of towers near the front when the helicopters had past the point that those towers could reach them and put an additional two lightening towers in the last slot before the door. This left me 1 life left that I was able to milk until the next round of helicopters, which destroyed me.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
As an aside, I wouldn’t hazard to guess if this is as far as a person could get in the game, maybe a different strategy would have worked better, maybe 1 goo to 2 lightning towers instead of 1 to 1, but since this took about 3 or 4 hours to complete, I don’t think Ill be trying it again! I hope to hear someone has beaten it in the future though. Best of luck!
January 13th, 2009 at 1:25 am
I’ve lost twice on level 99, hard mode, crossroads, no juggling. Argh! I do a left to right maze. I don’t do many missiles. Guns and goo at first, with my first tesla at about level 40. About 6 cars get by me each game but most are choppers. Maybe if I juggle out those 6 I can do it…
Very time consuming.
January 13th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Btw you may notice that juggling costs you lots of points.
February 9th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I was trying find out how high the highest level that has been reached was. I am on wave 270 right now with 17 lives left. I had 20 lives up until 269 and 3 choppers got by. Anyway, I know once you get past 200 it starts getting pretty rowdy and alot of juggling has to happen. I would appreciate it if anybody can post their highest wave or e-mail me. I just want to know if I’m on my way to breaking any records. LOL. Thanks.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Whoops. I’m on wave 250… not 270. Sorry.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
My record on easy for the grass map is 385 so far it gets insanely hard
March 6th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I got to level 349 and died on easy mode. Anyone get higher than that?
May 31st, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Wow you guys all suck im at grassland 1006 easy no cheating at all