Name: Flash Element TD
Category: Simple strategy
Platform: Web based Flash game
Web site: http://novelconcepts.co.uk/FlashElementTD
I have seen this game mentioned on several sites and with good reason. Since one of my friends gave me the link last week I have played the game several times. It is a good game to play before work, at lunch and after work 
All in all it got to be said that the game is rather simple, which is one of the charms of it. Just like Chess and Go; rules are easy but takes time to master. The game consists of 39 levels but I have so far only reached level 37 (and that only once).
So what is the game? There is a path on the playfield and next to the path you have grass. You are in control of the grass and can place various towers there. On each level X number of creeps will try to walk the path, if they get through it then you loose some gold and a life, they then appear at the start again. So your job is not to attack but rather to make sure the creeps does not get through the path!
The path stays the same for all 39 levels and you keep the units you set. So if you at the start set a tower then that tower stays until you sell it. You have a chance to set, upgrade or sell towers between levels (no time limit) but you can do this while during a level. There are different kinds of towers:
Arrow tower: Fires very fast but does low damage.
Cannon: Fires very slowly but does high damage; also damages the units around the target. Can only attack ground creeps.
Air: Good damage and firing speed. Can only be used against airborne creeps.
Water: Slows down units and does medium damage. Quickly at firing.
Earth: Can only be used against land units; does lots of damage.
Fire: Can be used against land and air units. Lots of damage but rather slow to fire.
Combo: The best of them all. Very long range, lots of damage and good firing speed.
All the towers can be upgraded; each upgrade will increase different attributes, such as: Speed, damage, range and splash (How much of surrounding creeps gets hit). The better the tower, the more expensive the tower is, same with the upgrades. Only the first 3 towers are available when the game starts; for every 7th level you get a ‘wood’ which can be used to research in water tower, earth tower or fire tower, or to increase the interest. The Combo tower is only available if you researched in all 3 of the other towers. Since you start with limited gold you have to use it wisely. Interesting is that at the end of each level (when all creeps are dead) you will get an interest of the gold you have left. So just in real life: Just because you have the gold does not mean you have to spend it.
The creeps gets harder and harder for each level, sometimes they also move very fast or are immune to the water tower. Three of the levels are with airborne creeps, so be careful not to only have cannons. There are also special boss levels where only one creep appears but they have to be hit a lot before they die.
To be able to get far in the game and get a good score you have to think… Meaning, be careful with the towers you use and how quick you upgrade them. I started with using a lot of arrow towers as they shoot quickly but lately I have started to use cannons a lot, just one to start with for some levels. But as I said, I only got to level 37 so I’m not mastering it at all.
The game also features a leader board which holds the best scores; but a score is only kept on the list for up to 5 hours. I have once been below position 2000.
The visuals in the game are not outstanding but they are also not bad at all; this game is about game play and not about fancy graphics or sound.
I can highly recommend the game but be careful it might be a bit addictive. To get an idea how addictive and how popular the game is you should look at the page with the stats for how many hits the site is getting pr day (see this page). Keep in mind, the game has only been live since January the 6th. On the 22nd of Jan they had 1.214.968 page hits, using a bandwidth of 26.4 GB.
Just to finish up a few screen shots, the game I took the screenshots ended as always at level 36 and at position 2452 on the leader board.
Click images to see them at full resolution.
 |
 |
| At the very start. 40 Gold and nothing else. | Second boss getting through. |
 |
 |
| Level 25. | Nearing the end. Level 36. |
 |
|
| Game over. |
Hihi jeg har kun nået til level 34 :D
Normally I would only accept comments in English but that one is from my sister, saying “hihi I have only reached level 34”; I think the post shows how addictive the game can be…the comment was written at 2.30 in the morning ;)
My strategy is quite simple. For lv 1-7 you just build and upgrade a few cannon and arrow towers and 2 lv 2 air towers for the air round. Then you get a few fire towers and sell your arrow towers. Get about 5 fire towers then uprgrade them 1 by 1. Build the fire towers after the 2nd corner.
Then get some water towers at lv 14 to slow down the creeps and maximise clumping for maximum dmage output from ur fire towers. I dont suggest getting any earth tower sbut definately get the research for it lv 28 youll need it. Then just get as much money as possible to get the ultimate tower 2000 dmg slow, lv 2 190g 2000dmg fast. THis gtower is essential for winning lvs 35-39. u cant beat it unless u mass make earth towers and i personaly wouldnt. Place these in the middle of the map to cover the whole map with their awsome range. Also everytower u make get a water tower next to it. Have fun trying to beat this game im ranked 300th or so in the game :)
Thanks for the tips Evilkiuuz. This is what I love about this game; so many ways to beat it. If you check my other posting about Flash Element TD you will notice I also got through it and at that stage got to position 165. Check it here.