Review: Dillon's Rolling Western

Dillon’s Rolling Western - Rolling in the Difficulty

Originally Published and Copyrighted by Blast Away the Game Review on 5/9/2014

Review by Dustin Murphy

Pros:

• Amazing use of tower defense and stylus based brawler
• Multiple enemy types that provide a fun time period
• Interesting use of the hand-held touchpad for controls
• The 3D depth is well detailed and really shows the 3DS’ graphical capability
• Stages can be revisited to try and power up for later levels

Cons:

• Difficulty will be too high for most players
• Lack of Difficulty option selector
• Controls for beginners may be complicated
• Lack of in-game currency when starting makes the difficulty for kids too high

Final Score: 7 out of 10

Other Thoughts: When playing Dillon’s Rolling Western, I can’t say I didn’t have fun, but even as an advanced gamer, it became clear the difficulty was present. Players are given approximately 5-10 minutes to search the area for treasures, money, and of course quest items. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem long enough for two “enemy raids”. With a bit of learning, priority, and luck, this game is easily playable and should give some players no trouble.

-Full Review-

 Western games are far and few in the mix. Thanks to Dillon’s Rolling Western, a bit more has been added to the time period of games. What makes it unique is the use of tower defense and action. This is where I found the game the most unique having played plenty of tower defense titles to add to that list. With Dillon’s Rolling Western, we take the role of Dillon, a ranger, and well, an Armadillo. In his story we discover that he’s a up and coming ranger, and in doing so, he and his partner that’s a squirrel have set out to help villages protect their Scrogs from the ever terrorizing Grocks. These Grocks invade their villages only at night, which gives Dillon and his partner a chance to set up defenses in order to protect each of these village like towns. For players looking for tutorials? This game will give you very few and it is highly recommended to train with the new items as they are unlocked so as to perfect their skills. Players will be able to while it is day time, before the Grock Raids, be able to collect plants that will allow them to stockpile Scrogs, mine ores and minerals to build gate defenses, but also collect items to sale in order to build watch towers, turrets, and even save up for item upgrades between raids.

What was interesting is the way Grocks are set up. There’s not just one kind, but multiple. The most commonly encountered is just the little grocks. These little guys will come in groups of 2-5 Grocks, and will be rather difficult to kill till players obtain a good use of Dillon’s claw attack, which can be performed by tapping the touchpad with either your thumb, index finger, or stylus as Dillon lands his attack on enemies. Fortunately, the attacks are powerful, and will allow for players to easily set up combos in order to take enemies out as they master the games skills. Unfortunately these skills are not easy to master, require time, patience, and a lot of exhaustive areas. Unlike most Tower Defense titles, this one is more strategic. It will require players to plan ahead even at the beginning as their funds are very limited and will not allow them to overpower the map, but on the bright side, it can be done at a later date. As players explore, the will be able to enter mysterious treasure rooms, which contain valuable gems or even health upgrades that will help in later on missions as players pursue the higher difficulties towards the end of the game. Fortunately as players do elevate in missions, new power up items, gems, and even defenses will become easier to access, but so will the need for planning ahead as each village only allots players with a certain amount of coin to begin with.

Unfortunately, one of the strongest weak points I found myself battling with was the lack of story. Sure it is there, but the idea is simply one saying we all know; Protect and Serve. With it we are also given a bountiful amount of side-quests through all ten chapters, which in turn, helps build up defenses for the towns for the final onslaught of enemies that come after the second wave. In this manner, players will be able to prepare for the Boss Grocks as well as the new variants that tend to appear, and some of them even needing to be single-handedly dealt with by Dillion. The downside is, the fights do get repetitive, they will feel short on variation, but for the simple idea of seeing if you can do better than the last mission - it’s worth it. Overall, Dillon’s Rolling Western remains much the same throughout the game, but will raise in difficulty with more enemies per wave. This will result in players needing to adapt, overcome, and even prioritize how they will defend their towns. I really hope the need for difficulty lowers or gives players an option in future titles, as this was one thing that really hurt my experience with this title. Overall, it’s definitely a must have for tower defense fans.

Graphics: This is by far one of the best looking games on the 3DS when the 3D is turned on. From stunning use of foreground and background effects, it truly shines as a 3D title. With rather smooth frame rate, players will love the advantage this game has displayed against titles like Pokemon X/Y.

Sound: The sounds are not bad with this title. Unfortunately, I prefered not to play with them as they did get repetitive over time, but nothing that others may enjoy. They are top-notch and prove so with how detailed even the score takes place.

Controls: This game has to be one of the best control based games I’ve yet to experience on the Nintendo 3DS thanks to the use of its stylus and or use of your thumb on the screen in order to help control Dillon’s spin. Using the touchpad however to confirm choices, was a bit unique. Very easy and straightforward to learn.