Lock's Quest
Ages: Everyone

This is my first "Tower Defense" game. Maybe some of you have played Rampart, one of the first games (1990) using castles of various strengths and functions to ward off enemy ships. But it may not have to be new for it to be fun.

Lock, a young talented Archineer, is assigned the task of protecting his homeland by constructing defensive walls and cannon turrets. There are rules for building, and Isaiah a 4th Rank Archineer, arrives to help Lock and acts like a kindly, older brother in teaching him how to construct fortresses. The game is divided between the building and the fighting segments. Time for the building and repairing of your fortress walls becomes more limited and the battles longer with more complex evolving adversaries to match your increasing stronger tech. Maps show you where enemies will spawn from and are helpful in devising your building strategy. 5th Cell, the designers of Drawn to Life has made placing the building blocks easy by making the pre-placement transparent.

It is an interesting switching of roles as you make the mazes and barrages instead of being the one subjected to them. While doing my share of melee fighting, I kept hearing explosions and when I looked around - saw that the tower arsenal that I had placed were doing a great job of taking out my enemies.

The game continues as you move into different locations, meet other Archineers, collect coins and scrap, use Source to build new weapons, and rescue your sister, kidnapped by Lord Agony. With multi-card play, if you have a friend with a copy of the game, you can battle and build - even choose how long each section will be. The game even comes with a mini comic book.

Fun Factor: With build and battle - the best of both worlds
Female Factor: Pfft - the only female gets kidnapped and put out of the play early in the game.
Player Friendly: A range of easy to expert will keep beginners and advance players engaged

Reviewed by: Editor - 09/08