Bloons TD Battles 2 Review - Beautiful tower defense game with annoying Ads
2021-12-12
The newest game in the Bloons TD series – Bloons TD Battles 2 might turn out to be the best one so far. The game features new characters better designed simple yet powerful gameplay, advanced graphics, and much more. Bloons TD Battles 2 or Battles 2 or BTDB2 is the latest tower defense game in the Bloons game series. This game is developed and published by Ninja Kiwi and serves as a spinoff version of Bloons TD 6, and is also a direct sequel to the Bloons TD Battle game.
The game is similar to the BTDB, where the player will have to prevent balloons sent by the opponent from traversing their track. While at the same time, they will also have the attack their opponent using Bloon Rush, which they can exchange for income in the game. The latest version of the game introduces major changes such as the inclusion of Heroes, 3rd Upgrade path, and upgrades graphics, XP, and more.
The Characters all have unique abilities, and what makes it better is that you will need to scratch your head to figure out which two abilities would work better when used together and which won't. The makers also did a good job with the game's music, graphics, and design. They are not very distracting and serve the purpose of delivering the best experience. I recently started playing this latest version, and in this article, I will be sharing my review of the game.
About the Gameplay
Before starting with the game, you will have to log in/Sign up and confirm that you are 13+. Once you pass this, Quincy will take you through the Tutorial part (The Battle School Tutorial). During this, you will be introduced to the game mechanics and earn rewards that will be useful further in the game.
The gameplay is easy or as it seems. But still, you need to focus completely to win the battle. Two players will battle in asymmetric and vertically divided arenas in Battles. The arena contains paths with an entry and an exit point. You have to choose your Hero and other Towers (details mentioned further in the article). As shown in their map, they will battle on a random arena during loading time.
The players have to pop balloons before crossing their paths and exiting through the exit point. Meanwhile, they can also attack the opponent by sending balloons (unlock at different levels reached). You can use monkey and non-monkey towers to destroy the balloons. But if these balloons pass through the exit point of the player's side before the player destroys them, it will result in the deduction of some life points from a total of 150 points. The first player to reach 0 will lose the game.
Apart from towers and Bloons attacking, both players will have Bloon Boost & Monkey Boost. The former temporarily increases the speed of the bloon sent at the opponent's end, while the Latter increases the attack speed of the user's tower. Each boost can be used three times in a match and lasts for a limited time.
Bloons and Towers
The first thing you will encounter after positioning your towers is the Bloons (balloons) in the game. These balloons will enter through the entry point, and before they reach the exit point, you have to pop them. There are several types of Bloons in the game with incremental difficulty.
- Red Balloon – the first balloon that you will encounter. It takes a hit to destroy.
- Blue Balloon. It takes two hits to destroy them. The first hit will destroy its layer from which a red balloon will appear. Next hit to pop this red balloon
- Similarly next in the Order are – Green, Yellow, Pink, Black, White, Zebra, Rainbow, Ceramic, and more.
- Some Bloons can generate child balloons too.
There are 22 towers known as monkey towers, though five are non-monkey. Towers attack the Bloons automatically. You can also upgrade the tower to make them more powerful.
Heroes – They are special towers that can upgrade themselves automatically. Heroes exist as characters in the game. A Player can use just one Hero per match.
Once you complete the Battle School Tutorial, you will have 2 Heroes – Quincy and Gwendolin.
Money
The game currency in Battles 2 can be used to purchase towers and upgrade them. You can also buy and send balloons to the opponent during battle. You won't get any money upon popping the balloon, but there is an increment every 6 seconds during the battle, which allows you to buy upgrades and attack the opponent.
This increment is visible in the green bar located in the middle. This bar is known as Eco. There are ways to generate money. Sending Bloons can increase Eco. Though at later stages, they result in deduction of Eco. Another way is through Banana Farms.
Note:- If any player loses all 150 life points, he will lose the game, and the game ends. But in case none of them lost all the points before level 40, then the player with the most points wins. Also, if they both have the same points at this level, Sudden Death is activated. It means the first player to leak a balloon will lose automatically.
What did I like?
The gameplay might look simple, but it's more than that. It requires your full attention. It requires proper planning. What I liked is the fact that you can't just use any tower in the battle. You need to be aware of that tower's abilities. For instance, you must be aware that Ice Monkey Tower can only slow down the bloons but can't pop them. You will have to upgrade it.
Another thing I liked is the design. It's simple, beautiful, and above all else, not distracting. Not lots of control options, no need to search here and there for menu options. It's all there arranged so that anyone new to the game can find them. Ads are minimal.
What I didn't Like?
Though minimal, they all are video Ads that take time to complete. The game lags in between loading screens. More arenas and Hero Towers could be added. Another thing that bugged me is some of the towers are too costly.
I would like to say that you should try this game once. It is fun and captivating. For me, it has been a good experience till now. I can't wait to see what updates the makers bring in for the next installment of the series.
