Master of Fortresses is the latest tower defense game that appeared on my website (to see which website it is about, as well as for a direct link to the game, take a look at the resource box bellow). I started playing it purely because I like tower defense games (and defense games in general) and because I found the name intriguing. I did not plan on writing a review about it, but Master of Fortresses turned out to be very addictive (I could not stop playing it to the very end - if you think about endless mode to be the end) and, so, here you have this review. I also included a number of supportive hints for folks who might find the game too difficult.
The concept behind Master of Fortresses is a little distinctive from the one behind other tower defense games (actually, it might be better called a fortress defense play games :p - yes, I know, there are not enough resembling defense games out there to let a new game group).
One of the key features (which gives it realism) is the fact that you must put palisades underneath every firing entity. This includes significant guns as well! Well, in their case you must also arrange a bastion to accommodate them. So, put four palisades, a bastion on top of them and the cannon on top of the bastion. It is truly nice but beware (!), all these do cost. The cost to actually get a cannon firing can be much bigger than the cost of the cannon itself (with British troops, it was 40 x 4 for palisades + 1 x 250 for the bastion + 200 the cheapest cannon itself - so, a total of 610 for a cannon (Culverin) that costs 200 itself). This can be a stun for the ones used to habitual tower defense games.
It is also essential to see that your troops and cannons can be upgraded, just like in most tower defense games. It might not be evident how to do it, so here it is (example for British side): position Militia -> when you hold enough capital, unlock Red Coats -> put directly Red Coats or pick your existing Militia and go for "upgrade" in the bottom-right part of the screen. Then you can unlock Green Jackets and upgrade your existing troops. And these Green Coats are authentic snipers! I survived a lot in the endless mode simply by using them. The upgrade costs are much bigger than the final unit expenses (Militia costs 50 and the upgrade to Red Coat is 40, therefore a total of 90, while a Red Coat directly costs only 65) but I was not very much concerned by it. You get enough cash from killing the rival to have enough money to continue upgrading a reasonable quantity of troops! Oh, the same goes for upgrading your cannons.
Strategy: Well, you saw that I chose to play on the British side (generally against the French). The British have the most costly troops but these also pack a nice punch. I am sure that the next tips work out for the other sides as well.
So, to start with take a good cover location. Like the tutorial states it, position your cover in "choke" points every time you can. When you cannot, I recommend putting the first defenses at least 3 squares away from your base, to leave sufficient room to build bastions behind them later on (the cannons have a bigger range then the troops, of course).
For me, the approach to set basic troops on palisades as a primarily line of defense (and upgrade them as soon as possible) worked very well. When you done upgrading them, you can start building bastions and deploying cannons. Ah, an important one, when you hover with the mouse over the arrows that show the attacking directions, you can see the unit times that will attack from that side. If you see engineers, then put barricades before your palisades. This is because the engineers are very tough attackers and they will break a few of the buildings they meet (and it is better to waste a barricade worth 15 then a palisade worth 40 + the troop on it). You can also use different kinds of traps, just like in other tower defense games; it is mainly beneficial when facing the later waves.
I found it good to also benefit from Puckle Guns (like machine guns). They discharge quickly and cover a very good range. And, this might be a life saver: you can rotate bastions! Therefore you can investigate from where the largest part of the enemies will appear and turn the majority of the guns in that direction!
I wrote about a life saver previously and here is an absolute "do not": do not try to set up a maze, like it is advised in other tower defense free games. These guys will crush each barrier they meet!
As a conclusion, Master of Fortresses is an addictive and well made tower defense game. There is a nice category of troops and upgrades, as well as of strategies that one can attempt. Even if I have shared with you my stratagem, there is nothing to stop you to try out your own, distinctive one. Check out the finish of the article bellow (or the resource box) to get the link and play this great game. Have fun!
