Crystal Defenders

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Genre: Strategy
Release Date: March 11, 2009
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, iPhone
ESRB: E - Everyone

Reviewer: Eric

When it comes to Square Enix I am a sucker. Even when advance reviews say how bad the game is I still have high hopes and I buy it. The latest game from Square Enix is Crystal Defenders, a downloadable game for the Xbox 360. After downloading the game it was clear to me that Square Enix has lost their touch.

Final Fantasy has a lot of memorable characters. You have Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, Chocobos, Cecil from Final Fantasy IV, Tonberries, and a whole lot more. By adding in the lesser known characters, those from the Tactics, you get a cast that is only known by the hardcore Final Fantasy fans.

Crystal Defenders is a taste of what’s to come from Square Enix on the Xbox Live Arcade. The first showing is below expectations. The product feels rushed and unpolished, something we have seen lately with Square’s games (not including Star Ocean: The Last Hope). Crystal Defenders feels like a direct port of the iPhone game. That means touch screen controls on an Xbox 360 controller. Yeah it doesn’t work one bit.

This is your typical tower defense game. You are given limited resources from the start and you have to place characters around your area. As you beat the hordes of enemies you’ll gain more resources to buy more characters. The difference with Crystal Defenders you can use summon spells after awhile, along with leveling up your characters which is nothing new to tower defense games. All of this doesn’t matter when you loose all of your characters. Once it hits zero it is game over.

Each class you can build has there strengths and weaknesses. The game does do a real nice job explaining what these characters can do. My only real problem is the explanations for the actual enemies are false at times. When a monster says they can not be defeated by magic you’d assume magic would do nothing. Turns out that is not the case really. The only time the game is telling the truth is when a flying enemy is attacking, ground units can’t do anything.

The controls are the worst part of Crystal Defenders. Every tower defense game known to man controls so much better than Crystal Defenders does. On an iPhone this game controls great with touch and go controls. Using those same controls on here just causes numerous headaches. You literally move one block at a time, one small block. Trying to place your units will take longer than the actual fighters.

Another big bust is the fact the game is not in widescreen. The characters and the actual game is presented in a small screen with both sets of characters on each side. It would have been enjoyable to see a much larger screen.

Final Verdict
Why would you pay 800 Microsoft Points for a game that was programmed to be played on an iPhone, Wii, and DS? It would have made more sense for Square Enix to make this game on those consoles only. Castle Defenders is a decent game but it is not worth the asking price at all. Hold off on purchasing this game for now.

Rating
5.50 out of 10