By Chan Chi Loong

LOCK'S Quest is an innovative DS-only title that is a blast to play.

It is a unique take on the tower defence genre - the first of its kind on the DS platform - and definitely worth a look for those who like a fast pace.

You play as Lock, an archineer-in-training - sort of like a magic engineer - looking to stop the advance of a mechanical clockwork war host led by the evil lord Agony.

It is standard cut-and-paste fantasy fare, except that the storyline gets much more interesting later in the game.

The game is split up into missions that comprise two sections - build and battle - and both segments are on timers.

In the build segment, you get to place your walls, turrets and traps to defend various objectives.

In the battle segment, you control Lock with your stylus. Lock can repair his fortifications or do battle with the mechanical clockworks that will swarm the map.

Survive the battle timer and he will proceed to the next cycle of build and battle till the mission ends.

It is in the battle segment where the heart-stopping action is. The interface is clean and intuitive and executing devastating battle moves are what makes the game really fun.

The game never gets boring as objectives are varied for each mission, and Lock will meet new enemies - like the deadly magicians and phantoms - as the game progresses. Luckily, Lock is more than a match for his foes as he will also learn new skills like acid bombs, life-drain attacks and mass repair spells along the way.

The game is really challenging at the later levels as the waves come fast and furious. The game takes about 20 odd hours to complete and hardcore players can restart the game on hard mode for additional challenge.

Multi-player mode is lacking though. You play head-to-head in a map scenario with one buddy that has Lock's Quest (no download play) and it is a race to see who survives the longest. There isn't much interaction, which would have made it a lot more fun. Also missing is co-op play and support for more players.

Still, the gameplay is unusual. Not surprisingly, it won the best strategy game award on the DS platform at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo - better known as E3 - the trade show for the computer and video games industry. Do give this title a whirl if you are looking for a fast-paced DS action strategy fun.

This article was first published in Digital Life, The Straits Times on Oct 15, 2008.