Sentinel Review
Save your structures from the mass of alien creatures in Sentinel, a new tower defense game.
Tower Defense game are one thing the app store is definitely not lacking. Creating one that is truly unique and worthy of a purchase alongside other tower defense games is not something that can be done easily.
With that said; Sentinel has managed to do exactly that. It is unique in its own ways, and even with other tower defense games on my device I will still play it.
Sentinel currently only has three maps, but each of the maps can be played across one of four difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard, and psycho). These maps have fixed paths for the aliens to travel along. Each map has different routes and different spots where enemies enter the map (sometimes there will be two spots where enemies enter). By pinching on the maps, you can zoom in and out, as well as look around while zoomed in by sliding your finger.
Along each path are structures (your base and barriers). The barriers have health bars, and their health will slowly deteriorate as the aliens damage it. Once they have been destroyed, the aliens can then move past them to your base (which when destroyed results in a ‘game over’).
To go along with the interesting idea of barriers, for 150 dollars you can also buy drones, which can both repair structures (unless they are completely destroyed) and harvest resources. Repairing structures is self explanatory, and the harvesting of resources will earn you extra cash.
In Sentinel, not only do you receive money for killing aliens, but you also earn interest on your cash after each wave. From what I’ve seen, it’s only a small percentage of your total cash, but it makes you be much more conservative about buying and upgrading weapons.
The items to buy in Sentinel (which can be placed by simply dragging and dropping them) are a laser, bomb, slow gun (slows enemies), beam, sniper, and the aforementioned drones. Each of the guns has its own unique perks, and can be upgraded (at a fee of course). To upgrade a gun, simply tap on it and press the upgrade button. When you tap on a gun, it will show you how much damage it currently inflicts as well as how much damage it will inflict when/if you upgrade it.
Another one of the things that is unique to Sentinel is the fact that once the creeps reach your base or barrier, they don’t stop. They will continue to damage your structures until you have killed them. This makes the game much more involving, because you have to make sure you finish of the aliens or else you will continue to lose health.
After each wave, you receive a point bonus based on the health status of your structures. The less damage they have taken, the more the bonus will be. Sentinel also has global high scores, which makes the game much more competitive and adds replay value.
Saying that the graphics in Sentinel are good would be an enormous understatement. In fact, saying that they are anything less than perfect is still an understatement. Even when you are fully zoomed in on the game, the game still looks amazing. The frame rate is good, textures are rendered nicely, and the aliens and weapons are colorful and look great. It is games like this that really make good use of the iPhone’s capabilities.
The music in Sentinel is only existent in the menus, but it is still very catchy, well done, and fit the look of the game perfectly. An option to turn on the music in game (along with the sound effects) would be a welcomed addition.
Overall, Sentinel is a great app with high production values and a ton of polish. Even if you have several tower defense games on your device, I think that you should give Sentinel a try, because in my opinion it brings enough new features to the table to justify a purchase. I enjoyed Sentinel very much, and I think that you all would too.
The Good
- Highly addictive
- Amazing graphics
- Lots of polish
The Bad
- Only three maps
- I spend too much time playing this game!!!
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Category: Games
This TD looks great! I love the graphics and could even be better than Fieldrunners! I think I own like 4 TDs and didnt think I would ever find another one to get!
Congrats to Maxva, CottonV, and raoupp the winners of the app!
Thank you very much Glenn,
I’ve spent the last hour playing Sentinel, and I must say that your review is spot on! Like I said before most tower games are pretty addictive and this one is as well. What sets this game on a higher level is the attention to detail that the developers put in. I love the fact that despite everything that is happening on screen, there is no slow down of frame rate.
The ability to zoom and move around the map adds a level of detail that is unexpected. I enjoy being able to see the fine detail of aliens dying or zooming out to set-up the rest of the map.
Thank you again Glenn, I really appreciate it!!
NP For the record Andy did this review, but I like to think we all do spot on reviews.
True that!
Totally!
looks nice, but the game seems to be too short.
Really cool idea for the next generation of TD games. Barriers which need protection and drones that can repair them and also harvest more money. Lots of structures to protect from the attack will surely guarantee that this game is a TD+.
My favourite TD game is creeps. Though Sentinel is not cute in a sense, the robots knocking down the door in the video seems real enough. The artifical intelligence in this game seems enticing enough to make people want to play this game.
Graphics are great in almost all TD games so I will not want to comment on that which is becoming more of the ordinary nowadays.
One of my favorite genres in the iPhone market has just got better. I’m a fan of a couple of TD games, including but not in order of favorite: Fieldrunners, 7 Cities, The Creeps, etc.
It only has 3 levels, but the developer already said they are going to add more if they get enough sales to justify the work.
really special towerdefense .. there are before you build cannons already some cannons .. it got good graphics and is cool towerdefense game because of cool 3D graphic ..
Wow. The graphics are stunning. And the sci-fi theme makes me want this game even more…
Hope the devs will adds some new levels. Three is not enough…
i dont play many td games besides tap defense. THis game does look really cool though.
Aww man I love TD games and the graphics on this one look slick!
Hopefully this doesn’t drain the batteries tooo much though
i like the movement away from historical td games like besiegement and 7 cities and the movement into the future. The new setting sets it apart imo. Nice looking game anyways though.
looks like a real decent td….
wow this game looks really good. Of course more levels would be nice, but fieldrunners only has 3 and people love that.
Damn that looks good. They just need to add more levels in the future.
As with most tower defense games this one seems just as addicting. However, it appears that the level of graphic overlay and control setup, this seems to be a winner.
im a td nut so naturally, this game looks really good. But how does it rank among the other top td games?
It’s a VERY good game. What I liked was that it was different enough to warrant a purchase alongside other tower defense games. I have The Creeps, Fieldrunners, and Sentinel, and I play them all because they are all different.
As I read this review I thought OMGGGGGG MUST REVIEW AND TRY AND GET PROMO CODE. It’s just like Fieldrunners but there are paths instead of making it. So many more upgrades for towers and it looks really realistic. So it seems to be really promising and maybe better than Fieldrunners? Who knows only time can tell.
plus that wall that the aliens have to breach? it seems more dramatic and action packed then fieldrunners
i am a ginormus fan of TD games and this has one of the top graphics of those types of games ive seen!
Great TD game..the graphics reminds me of those movie where there are spaceships like starship troopers.
Awesome! I love TD games, and this has the best graphics by far
Yes another td game! And great one at that!
Better graphics than the other td at least
Sounds like sway
Everything is good
But it needs more levels
The maps that are included will keep you plenty busy. And, the devs have said they will add additional maps in the future updates. On that note, Sway is already planning an update with more levels.
I know that
But as of now it may leave some people wanting more
this game looks interesting but also looks like it might get boring quick
It seems good, but not as good as Fieldrunners or 7 Cities.
The problem with Field Runners is that while it looks great, it’s not a very deep game, meaning there aren’t a lot of powerups or upgrades. 7 Cities on the other hand is one of the best.
this game is really involved in graphics. even building a tower has it’s own cool effects!
and from reading your review and watching the trailer, i think it may be a little hard. the creeps will continue to attack your base? it may be difficult for beginners.
Wow tower defence does it once again. I have both pre-made path td games and free path games like field runners and I can’t decide which I like more.
Oddly, opposite of what I would expect, it seems like the pre-made ones seem to be just as difficult, and involve lots of strategy. Sentinel has lots of difficulties though which is good.
This game seems like it has more to offer than some tower defence games i’ve seen, it has the graphics, the gameplay, and it just seems really interesting.
Might have to pick this one up. Hopefully the developers will update it often!
and i thought i didn’t want another TD game…
Got to play it a little bit now and I’ve had a good time with it. I love the barriers… that really ads something to the game because you can set up a big ambush there. But what really struck me about the game is that I felt like I was playing “Starship Troopers”… I liked that!
Don’t forget the drones. When they’re not repairing your structures, they can earn you extra money by mining.
Yeah… buying the drones to help keep the barriers up (and getting some extra money) is a great part of the game
that sounds awesome….I think i want this game even more
How is spending too much time playing the game their fault? If you play it too much, then it must be really good.
I like the fact that there are more towers than in the average TD game.
this looks kinda like fieldrunners but with different graphics, and a set path. The graphics look really good and I would love to have another TD game.
Sentinel is a great visual TD app. I started a discussion in Appversity’s forum last week because I’ve been playint this ever since it came out. If you’re new to TD’s or played with this genre before, Sentinel has some features found in no other TD apps. Personally, I play with 7 Cities, Besiegement and geoDefense, but Sentinel offers a different theme with new weapons and features.
this looks interesting, I like the fast swarming aliens
but three maps? I know fieldrunners only has three apps and is the same price, hopefully they will add more
“In Sentinel, not only do you receive money for killing aliens, but you also earn interest on your cash after each wave. From what I’ve seen, it’s only a small percentage of your total cash, but it makes you be much more conservative about buying and upgrading weapons.”
I like that concept a lot, its a small feature that may make or break your strategy..if you can only hold out…a lean placement strategy
this is defintly a very good td game which can compete against fieldrunners or geodefense!
nice graphics
and a new idea for a td….
Looks like a really cool TD..
Didn’t mean to click enter..
Looks very spacey and like you say it may take up lots of time dammit
Ahh ill get this if i don’t win – when i fix my iPod..
And here I thought I had all the TD games I needed… Wrong! I had to pick this up after reading the review and seeing the video. There go a few more hours in my life!