Real-time strategy gets a delightful overhaul with an offering that is jovial and addicting; PixelJunk Monsters, a tower defense game, makes its humble beginnings on the PS3 as a downloadable title. Forget the traditional notion of the RTS game, such as tanks, troops, and micromanagement, and replace it with a fanciful array of - you guessed it - towers. The concept presented is as simplistic as it is arduous but it constitutes a rewarding gameplay experience as you try to master its challenges.

The genre here has its roots tied in user-made mods of popular RTS PC games, a prime example of which is Warcraft. Though the glory days of its kind are over, they are thankfully not forgotten. This type of game has shown up on the mobile phone, for better or for worse, but more importantly it's now made its way to the console world, courtesy of Q-Games. Ambivalent because I love the concept but was skeptical as to how a console adaptation would turn out, PixelJunk Monsters granted a sigh of relief. Though it could have easily failed while venturing into new and unexplored territory, Monsters stakes its flag down with triumph.

The 'genre' of the game - tower defense - sums up the gameplay very well. Enemies spawn from a starting point and make their way to kill off your herd - in this case baby tiki men - which you must protect. To stop this flood of enemies and their insatiable desire to slaughter your 'cattle', you must build towers, each with their own different purposes. The enemies, or 'creeps' as they're known, each have their own strengths and weaknesses, so you need to mix and build the correct lineup of towers to combat this. One enemy wave might have a weakness to siege weapons for example, so a few cannon towers will do the trick, but if you only have archer emplacements then the arrows will just bounce off them, doing little damage.

Where the stipulation with tower placement is dependent of the map layout on the PC, PixelJunk Monsters adds its own interesting twist to the gameplay. Each level consists of a landscape with paths leading through patches of trees, which you use to construct your towers. Waves of enemies spawn at intervals, progressively getting tougher and more numerous, making their way from their starting point and stalking along the paths towards your cattle. You cannot physically block your enemies, so you must use the surrounding coppice to build the towers that you need to wipe out the oncoming hordes. There are various types of tower, including Tesla, fire and laser, each with their own sleek effects. As the levels ramp up in difficulty, the trees become fewer and farther between, while the paths along which the enemies trek leave little room for error, increasing the element of strategy and requiring smart decisions as to when and where you construct your towers so that no creeps survive the barrage.

Adding to the strategy is the option to upgrade your defenses to up to five levels, by using one of two options. The first method is to move your builder, a turtle crossed with a tiki looking guy, near a structure. He automatically starts doing his ritual dance, which in turn raises a bar that indicates the progress before that tower achieves a boost in effectiveness in either range or damage. Or, you can use the gems you collect from dispatched foes to upgrade your towers instantly. Although this generates immediate results you can also use gems to unlock more powerful towers, so there's a price to pay. Balancing the two methods if you're in a jam is critical if you are to succeed - and it isn't easy.

Along with managing these gems, dead creeps also drop gold. As you can probably guess, this is what you need to build your medieval turrets. Just like gems, there are multiple ways to benefit from the right kind of decisions with your currency. One, being a dilatory tactic, encourages you to slow down on your building and to think about savvy construction. You get bonus gold at the end of each wave based upon the percentage you still have in your pool. So if you were wise and didn't use all your gold then you get more back for being economically skillful. You can also sell a tower that isn't pulling its weight any more, receiving a portion of its cost back in return.

If you're feeling a tad gregarious then you can invite a friend to play the co-op mode, which adds more leniency to the grueling difficulty, if only slightly, and potentially equates to more fun. In order to progress in Monsters you need to get a set amount of perfects - no 'leaks' - so having a helping hand is surely welcome. There is no online multiplayer but if you are connected to the Internet then your scores are added to the online leaderboards.

Another positive for this title is the art direction; zany creatures and mesmerizing stages make it stand out in the right way. The bigger impression, being the latter, is a result of balancing a vibrant color scheme without being overbearing; whether it be a lush green forest or an autumnal setting, with snow or rain complementing the visuals, it has an essence to its simplicity, falling into its own niche and succeeding.

If you want to break up the monotony of playing the full-fledged titles then Pixel Junk Monsters is an easy to pick up and play experience. Don't equate this to being a walk through the park; I found medium stages challenging to beat and trying to get a perfect on them left me wondering how it could be done, mainly because, if you're playing alone, it's hard to be everywhere at once and some of the creeps specialize in being fleet footed. Regardless, the only thing that can be faulted is the lack of diversity in enemy types and that nothing cosmetically spectacular happens when you upgrade a tower; a flag changes colors to represent the upgrades. Also, the music is repetitive and may grate on your nerves if you don't grow accustomed to it. Despite these grievances, Monsters is a winsome game at heart and an enjoyable addition to your library if you're looking for something that's strategic and a little different to the norm.

Reviewed by Matthew Dart for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).