The Match-3 genre is one of the stalwarts of the casual game space, but all that means is that there are plenty of bad products trying to grab the attention of unwary gamers. With its depth of gameplay systems and huge amount of single and multiplayer content, Gems of War is one of the best across all platforms and one of the few high-quality casual games on current gen consoles.
If everything about Hard West was as great as its combat and strategic layer, it would easily sit near the top of a list of memorable Old West-themed games. Take away the cowboy costumes and it's still an excellent turn-based game with some clever mechanics to mess with. A kind of bland overworld game experience combined with a hokey story arc bring Hard West down just a couple of notches. Still, it's a Western, and a great turn based strategy game, and we need more of both.
It's hard not to be enchanted by Valhalla Hills and its beauty is more than skin deep: there are some relatively complex and robust systems and challenges underneath its charming presentation. Lacking a real story-driven campaign, multiplayer support or even a map editor, however, it falls short in both breadth of content and long-term sustainability. What's there is fun, and DLC is on the horizon, but the package is on the light side.
FortressCraft Evolved has moved from being a "block builder" clone to something unique, especially in Survival Mode, which can be played like a multi-faceted tower defense game. FortressCraft Evolved contains the seeds to nurture creativity and imaginative play, but its first few hours are abysmally confusing and its UI is in dire need of a do-over. Not an especially charming or friendly take on the genre, FortressCraft Evolved has a lot of depth and potential for the dedicated player.
Legacy of the Void is an excellent conclusion to Blizzard's trilogy. While one can get impatient with the familiar mission structure, it's impossible to argue with the excellent faction balance and action. As a genre, real time strategy games have lost a bit of appeal and the StarCraft 2 trilogy doesn't move them into new territory. Let's leave that for the next generation. Right now, there's Legacy of the Void. It's all good.
Thanks to these problems, a visually charming and potentially enjoyable - if thoroughly unoriginal - tower defense game becomes much harder to recommend. Of course, grinding to earn upgrade points is always an option, but the levels aren't that charming. Tower defense games aren't exactly gaming junk food, but their secret is in rapid pace and a steady forward progression. Get that wrong and not much else matters.