Blue Defense: Second Wave is a wonderful sequel by the same folks that brought us Blue Attack, Blue Defense, and Red Conquest.  I’m not a huge fan of arcade type games as they generally require quick thought and reactions.  While game play on this game is quick, the controls are so simple that you don’t have to think a whole lot about it…just react.

The game concept if fairly straightforward and simple.  You are a blue planet under attack.  Your job is to shoot down the attackers.  As soon as the level starts, the shooting starts up automatically.  It is this auto-fire part of the game play that makes it something that I can enjoy.  All the user has to do is to aim the “fire” at the attacking hoards.  This can be done both via tilt controls and by touching the screen.

The $1.99 game boasts a whopping 64 levels, 24 different enemy types, and multiple game modes that combine to give you 74 mode-based leaderboards.  On top of that, there are over 200 medals to obtain.  The graphics are retina-quality and the game is very responsive to both the tilting and touch controls – even when you are using them simultaneously.  In short, it is a quality product at a very reasonable price.  I was so impressed with it in, in fact, that it is the first arcade shooter game to ever make my Must-Have list.  If I were going to recommend an arcade shooter for the iOS platform, Blue Defense: Second Wave would be it.