The frontier was a dusty, lonely place that only the hardiest of settlers dared to call home. Dillon's Rolling Western for the Nintendo 3DS pits you against some of the hardest challenges that the Old West's pioneers had to deal with, including tricky terrain, marauding varmints, and pig-scarfing piles of rock.
(Wait, what?)
Dillon's Rolling Western is an intriguing mix of action, role-playing, and tower defense. The game takes place in a blazing desert world, a setting that's not often seen in RPGs. It is, in a word, compelling, though the difficulty takes a significant upward swing fairly early in the adventure, and therefore might not appeal to everyone.
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Role-Playing/Tower Defense
ESRB Rating: E10+
Compatible With: Nintendo 3DS
Price: $9.99 USD
(Wait, what?)
Dillon's Rolling Western is an intriguing mix of action, role-playing, and tower defense. The game takes place in a blazing desert world, a setting that's not often seen in RPGs. It is, in a word, compelling, though the difficulty takes a significant upward swing fairly early in the adventure, and therefore might not appeal to everyone.
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Role-Playing/Tower Defense
ESRB Rating: E10+
Compatible With: Nintendo 3DS
Price: $9.99 USD
THE BASICS: Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Dillon's Rolling Western stars a silent hombre named Dillon. Dillon is stone-cold tough, which isn't simply a commentary on his disposition. He's an armadillo, so he has a hard hide. In fact, his thick skin is the key to succeeding at the game.
Dillon is a freelance "Ranger" who drifts in and out of several towns to help them with a common problem: dens of "Grocks," malicious creatures made of rock, are breaking into settlements and chowing down on the livestock. The townsfolk can't survive without their animals, so it's up to Dillon to help fortify each settlement, as well as personally help drive back the invasions.
Every Grock invasion lasts three days, and always happens at sundown. That gives Dillon the daylight hours to prepare, but the sun hits the horizon pretty quickly out in the desert, and there's lots to do. Mounting a proper defense means building gun towers, arming them, and fortifying the town gates. Doing all this requires money and minerals, so Dillon must find each level's mines, roll up, and grind away at the ore inside to chip off what he needs.
Mining takes time, and gun towers are expensive to build and arm. The idea is to prepare yourself over the course of three days, since the biggest and toughest Grock invasions happen on the third evening. Moreover, you earn a fee for each night that you successfully defend a town, and that money can go towards buying more towers and guns that can shoot down the Grocks at long-range, as well as new equipment for Dillon.
Indeed, arming Dillon is your first priority. The armadillo doesn't sit around and wait for the guns to take care of business: when the Grocks come marching in, he's on the front lines. Dillon travels quickly through each level by rolling, which is performed by dragging the stylus backwards on the touch screen, and lifting it releasing it. Rolling is also Dillon's primary means of taking down Grocks. When he makes contact, you can hold the stylus to the screen, and he'll shred rock. This is an excellent way to earn ore, minerals, and items, which in turn can be used in the fortification of your town.
However, grinding an enemy takes time--and time is not something you have. When you engage a Grock and are pulled into a battle scene, the other Grocks on the map continue their inexorable march towards the town. If they break in and eat all the livestock, it's game over. It's therefore extremely important to learn the art of time management if you want to succeed at Dillon's Rolling Western. Do your job well, though, and you just might find some more work down the road.
Dillon is a freelance "Ranger" who drifts in and out of several towns to help them with a common problem: dens of "Grocks," malicious creatures made of rock, are breaking into settlements and chowing down on the livestock. The townsfolk can't survive without their animals, so it's up to Dillon to help fortify each settlement, as well as personally help drive back the invasions.
Every Grock invasion lasts three days, and always happens at sundown. That gives Dillon the daylight hours to prepare, but the sun hits the horizon pretty quickly out in the desert, and there's lots to do. Mounting a proper defense means building gun towers, arming them, and fortifying the town gates. Doing all this requires money and minerals, so Dillon must find each level's mines, roll up, and grind away at the ore inside to chip off what he needs.
Mining takes time, and gun towers are expensive to build and arm. The idea is to prepare yourself over the course of three days, since the biggest and toughest Grock invasions happen on the third evening. Moreover, you earn a fee for each night that you successfully defend a town, and that money can go towards buying more towers and guns that can shoot down the Grocks at long-range, as well as new equipment for Dillon.
Indeed, arming Dillon is your first priority. The armadillo doesn't sit around and wait for the guns to take care of business: when the Grocks come marching in, he's on the front lines. Dillon travels quickly through each level by rolling, which is performed by dragging the stylus backwards on the touch screen, and lifting it releasing it. Rolling is also Dillon's primary means of taking down Grocks. When he makes contact, you can hold the stylus to the screen, and he'll shred rock. This is an excellent way to earn ore, minerals, and items, which in turn can be used in the fortification of your town.
However, grinding an enemy takes time--and time is not something you have. When you engage a Grock and are pulled into a battle scene, the other Grocks on the map continue their inexorable march towards the town. If they break in and eat all the livestock, it's game over. It's therefore extremely important to learn the art of time management if you want to succeed at Dillon's Rolling Western. Do your job well, though, and you just might find some more work down the road.
THE GOOD
Good graphics and sound -- Dillon's Rolling Western isn't the fanciest-looking game available for the Nintendo 3DS, but it boasts a lot of atmosphere thanks to its dusty setting and accompanying music. You'll fight in grasslands, deserts, as well as swamps, and there's something to be said for fighting by the light of a blood-red sunset.
The battles are fun -- Who knew that an armadillo has so many ways to drive back its enemies? Dillon can claw the bad guys, he can roll into them, and he can trip them up. He can also buy equipment to boost his attacks, like gloves that pack more of a punch, and spikes that clip into his back to help him really put the hurt on the Grocks.
It's a fast-paced game -- There's no downtime in Dillon's Rolling Western, and you'll never be bored playing it. There's so much to do during the daylight hours--mining, fortifying defenses, helping the villagers increase their livestock count--that you're guaranteed to wish for a few extra minutes once the sun starts sinking. And when the Grocks mount their attack, you'll barely have time to breathe.
Neat character designs -- Dillon's world is populated by other anthromorphic animals, and each creature suits its setting. The mayor of one plains-based town is a buffalo, the mayor of a swamp-based settlement is an alligator, and so on. The bartender that appears in each town's saloon is especially interesting: he's a scarred goat with a broken-off horn. What's his story?
You can go back to towns you've already cleared and try for a better score -- Once you've completed a town, it's not history. You can travel back to it at any time and defend it again using increased funds and better gear. You earn star ratings on how expertly you do your job, so if you're having trouble with your current assignment, consider a "break."
The battles are fun -- Who knew that an armadillo has so many ways to drive back its enemies? Dillon can claw the bad guys, he can roll into them, and he can trip them up. He can also buy equipment to boost his attacks, like gloves that pack more of a punch, and spikes that clip into his back to help him really put the hurt on the Grocks.
It's a fast-paced game -- There's no downtime in Dillon's Rolling Western, and you'll never be bored playing it. There's so much to do during the daylight hours--mining, fortifying defenses, helping the villagers increase their livestock count--that you're guaranteed to wish for a few extra minutes once the sun starts sinking. And when the Grocks mount their attack, you'll barely have time to breathe.
Neat character designs -- Dillon's world is populated by other anthromorphic animals, and each creature suits its setting. The mayor of one plains-based town is a buffalo, the mayor of a swamp-based settlement is an alligator, and so on. The bartender that appears in each town's saloon is especially interesting: he's a scarred goat with a broken-off horn. What's his story?
You can go back to towns you've already cleared and try for a better score -- Once you've completed a town, it's not history. You can travel back to it at any time and defend it again using increased funds and better gear. You earn star ratings on how expertly you do your job, so if you're having trouble with your current assignment, consider a "break."
THE BAD
It's a fast-paced game -- Can a game's strength also be a weakness? In this case, yes. The RPG segments of Dillon's Rolling Western might trick you into thinking that it's a laid-back game, but that's anything but the case. If you want a nice, quiet title to wind down with right before bed, look elsewhere, amigo.
It can be very frustrating -- If you fail to defend a town from a Grock invasion, you go back to the start of that day and your progress is lost. This is an unpleasant experience if you mess up with a mere few Grocks left on the map. Rrrgh.
No quick-save -- In Dillon's Rolling Western, your game is saved after each Grock attack is stopped for the day. There's no way to quick-save, beyond just closing your Nintendo 3DS. Make sure your battery doesn't conk out in the meantime.
No accurate means of keeping time -- Time is of the essence in Dillon's Rolling Western, but you have no real way of knowing when a Grock invasion is about to start. It just happens. This is a little irritating when you're returning to town with a pocket full of resources, and get locked out because of a Grock attack.
It can be very frustrating -- If you fail to defend a town from a Grock invasion, you go back to the start of that day and your progress is lost. This is an unpleasant experience if you mess up with a mere few Grocks left on the map. Rrrgh.
No quick-save -- In Dillon's Rolling Western, your game is saved after each Grock attack is stopped for the day. There's no way to quick-save, beyond just closing your Nintendo 3DS. Make sure your battery doesn't conk out in the meantime.
No accurate means of keeping time -- Time is of the essence in Dillon's Rolling Western, but you have no real way of knowing when a Grock invasion is about to start. It just happens. This is a little irritating when you're returning to town with a pocket full of resources, and get locked out because of a Grock attack.
CONCLUSION: Power Ranger
The mish-mash of genres in Dillon's Rolling Western won't appeal to everyone, but the game itself is as solid as an armadillo's back. Put on your rhino-hide boots and chalk up another winner for the Nintendo eShop.
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
