Overview
Critterland is in danger and only you can save them from the undead and restore peace to the land. That’s the premise behind an awesome little Android game called Paladog from FazeCat. Paladog is a Castle Defense game of sorts that puts you in charge of a group of furry crusaders out to make things right in Critterland. Sound interesting? It is, and Paladog is a blast to play as well.
Gameplay & Features
Paladog is a straightforward attack and defend type of game where you’ll need to march from one end of the battlefield to the other and destroy your enemies’ castle. You are a dog on a horse (thus the name Paladog) and traversing the battlefield is made easy by simply pressing the forward or back button. Even though Paladog is a bad ass, he still needs some help which comes in the form of animal infantry. Any soldiers you’ve unlocked are shown across the bottom of the screen, and you can use as many as you wish as long as you have enough food. The food gauge is on the left while the mana gauge is on the right, the latter being where you’ll get the juice for your special attacks. The special attacks vary depending on which hero you’re playing with and they can all be upgraded or changed out to suit your needs.
After you clear a level you can spend your hard earned loot at the shop which is where you’ll get to buy new troops and upgrade your attacks. The troops range from kangaroo’s and dragons to monkey pirates and bears… and yes, I said “monkey pirate” which is cool enough in itself. Each unit can be upgraded up to 20 times once it’s been purchased; some of the troops and upgrades are quite expensive so keep that in mind when shopping.
The Equip tab lets you change your hero’s equipment which will vary depending on if who you’re playing with. I believe there are around 10-12 weapons and rings per character, but all items can be “enchanted” to be made more powerful. Most everything costs coins, but a few things cost gems which are this games form of in-app purchase currency. Diamonds can be bought and exchanged for enchantment runes and gold; the prices are actually good for once so kudos to Fazecat for making the gems affordable.
Paladog is a big game as you’ll have to work your way through 120 levels set across 5 different zones with Mind Forest, Forest of the Dead, Ice Glen, Dark Cave, and Forgotten Palace. There are two modes of play in Paladog as well with Campaign and Survival modes. Campaign is the heart of the game while Survivor mode lets you see how long you can last against the undead. That’s really 240 levels if you take into account that you can play through as both characters although you can’t unlock Darkdog until defeat him in battle after the 3rd wave in Survival Mode. There are some achievements and a survival ranking, but that’s about it in the extras department.
Verdict
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Paladog, but was pleasantly surprised by what I found after playing the game for a few days. This Android game really has it all, as you get a quirky storyline, great characters, slick graphics and plenty of depth. I really enjoyed the way the game plays and the difficulty factor as Paladog is going to get pretty tricky as you progress. The games almost like a fencing match at times where you’ll go forward and attack then have to momentarily retreat before surging forward again. It’s a lot of fun and I promise the game will keep you busy for awhile. You can check out Paladog Free or grab the Full version of Paladog for only $1.99 on Google Play.