Comet Crash is a valuable addition to the PlayStation Network game library and to the Tower Defense genre too. The game draws you in right from the start, challenging you to hone your strategy skills and drawing you in to try levels again and again so that you can progress deeper.

At one stage I found myself clocking in at 45 minutes for one particular level, sweat was dripping off my brow and my fingers had started to feel a bit numb. I was convinced that I would not survive yet another relentless attack of the enemy hordes…and yet I found myself digging deep to outlast the waves of enemies that were released, intent on destroying my base, and emerged victorious.

The concept of the game, like most other Tower Defense games, is simple. Defend your base from waves of enemies with each level having a set amount of lives. Once that number of enemies infiltrates your base, you lose, but Comet Crash introduces something new to the mix which brings a refreshing change to the genre. Not only do you need to defend your base, you also need to attack your enemy! So, in order to win the level you need to get your troops to the enemies’ base and defend your base too.

The story goes like this: four different comets have been sent by alien forces to wreak havoc on your home planet and it’s your goal to win back control of them. With each victory you will gain access to upgraded units. The game features Beginner, Casual and Ranked difficulty levels to let you ease yourself into the action if you are new to this kind of game. You can also brush up on your Tower Defense skills in the training stage which is comprehensive but not too long.

The control scheme of the game works particularly well and, as an added bonus, is easy to pick-up-and-play. To select a building press R1, while X builds it, circle is used to upgrade it, triangle to repair it and square to recycle it. Use the D-pad to select which unit you want your building to produce. Hovering over a building will show how much it will cost to upgrade it to the next level. Press the right analogue stick in to deploy units, moving it to the left or right to select which units you want to deploy.

You will fly your spacecraft using the left analogue stick while R2 enables your spacecraft to grab a passing rock, which you can then draw closer to your turrets to destroy and which is the only way to earn all important resource known as Thorium. You will also need to keep an eye on the panel on the left hand side of screen which displays each players lives, resources and units as well as the amount of time you have been playing that level for and the number of enemy lives and units.

There are a number of different buildings and troops in the game, and as you progress in the game each level will require you to try a new building to counter the attacks of new enemy troops and buildings. This forces you to build different buildings, deploy different troops and keeps the gameplay varied and entertaining, while at the same time challenges you to master a wide range of different strategies.

As in most Tower Defense games, the different buildings must be used to overcome different enemy attacks. In the beginning you will probably get by with building turrets alone, but be wary of the next level which may require lasers to defeat air units known as drones. And so the game continues. You must learn how to build bombers to help take out your enemy’s buildings and allow your troops to pass unharmed on the path to the enemy’s base while pulsars become important later on to reduce the waves of enemies coming your way.

Building a Basic Ops building is essential from early on in the game, how else are you going to win if you don’t build an army worthy to make the long march to your enemies’ base. While scouts may suffice in round one, you will soon need to upgrade to tanks as you see your scouts become cannon fodder on the frontline. Later still it will become necessary to upgrade again to produce your own air units which will be able to fly straight towards the enemies’ base, although it is guaranteed that they won’t make it on their first attempt.

Building lasers will not only help to combat the enemy’s air attacks but will also help to weaken and blow up the passing rocks and earn you some much needed resources. However, you will normally find yourself so cash-strapped that you will have to keep a look-out for rocks and then bring them into the range of your turrets. For me this was probably the most fun part of the game. As mentioned earlier, you press R2 to attach a rock to your spacecraft and then drag it towards your turrets or laser towers.

However, sometimes you will find yourself venturing into the enemy territory, taking serious fire from the enemy’s defenses which just so happen to be weakening not only the rock but your spacecraft too! To repair your ship simply hover over your base for a few minutes, but I must warn you that losing a rock after you have risked life and limb to try and get the resources for yourself can be mildly upsetting. Not as upsetting as carefully selecting a big rock (the larger they are, the more resources they yield) only to approach it too quickly and see it shooting off the screen. There is something to be said for driving your spacecraft responsibly, you will earn yourself extra rock resources!

Once you have your Basic Ops and Special Ops structures up and running, upgraded and building a variety of scouts, tanks, thieves and drones, you are ready to unleash your army. You will also discover that building your own horde of troops, saving your army until it has multiplied into the hundreds, and deploying it with a wicked glint in your eye does not always do the trick. In fact you will probably be quite torn apart when you see your militia storm out of your base, only to be gunned down as soon as they enter enemy territory. Time to build a Special Ops structure sergeant! This will allow you to build other interesting troops including a hammer (slows down enemy troops) and a thief (steals units from enemy troops).

The gateway unit is also pretty handy in a skirmish because it allows your troops to pass through it but blocks the enemy. This has the effect of changing the course that the enemy follows to get to your base, which incidentally can also be achieved through placing your buildings wisely.

When you unlock new upgrades, you will be given a handy tutorial screen before the next level starts. If you happen to lose a level you will be presented with a Hint option for your retry. Both these options help you to progress in the game without becoming frustrated.

The menu screens are beautifully designed and the game also allows you to play your own music, I found ‘Wave of Mutilation’ by Pixies or Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ to be particularly encouraging during a tight battle. Not that the game’s music needs to be changed because it is complementary to the on-screen action, but it’s always nice to have the option.

As with most other games, the only thing that could be more fun than wasting the enemy is wasting the enemy with a friend. In the Campaign mode you can clear the scourge with up to two friends thanks to the offline co-operative mode. Each player has a spacecraft and you work co-operatively to make the most out of the resources available. It is of course sometimes fun to steal your friend’s comet which normally leads to a cosmic tug of war when resources are scarce.

Four players can also fight it out over 12 different maps in the offline Battle mode. It could just as well have been called adrenaline mode, and if you thought you were fighting over rocks with other players before in the campaign, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Configure the teams however you want before beginning the fight over resources as you build up your defenses and attack one another with your armies. Begin each map by placing your base and then let the mayhem unfold.

Next to trophies, online leaderboards are the way of the future, (the way of the future…) so you will be happy to know that Comet Crash includes both for you trophy collecting, score chasing addicts.

With 28 levels in the Campaign mode, four player skirmishes in Battle mode and offline co-op, Comet Crash is great value for money at $9.99 from the PlayStation Store. It will quench your thirst for Tower Defense action, and promises to keep you entertained for many hours and probably even months to come.

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