7 Best IPhone Tower Defense Games

The Apple iPhone App Store is celebrating its one year anniversary of draining bank accounts and providing both the best and worst of content for your iPhone, and in honor of this momentous occasion we decided to give readers a "best of" series of iPhone apps and games.

This installment provides you with the 7 best iPhone tower defense (also called TD) games.

The tower defense genre is relatively new to the gaming scene, and the success of a few games has spawned an overwhelming amount of copies and rehashes of the genre. The concept is simple: players build towers to defend their base against an endless onslaught of attackers. Victory in the short run results in money or credits toward upgrades and more towers.

With so many tower defense games available for the iPhone, however, it is difficult to find exactly what the discerning gamer is looking for.

However, these 7 tower defense games rise to the top of the genre, and each provide something a bit different for those looking to get their tower defense fix:

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 7) Tap Defense
We start with the most basic of the bunch, Tap Defense. This game has been a staple on many iPhones and iPods since the beginning of the App Store, and continues to stand strong even amidst the hordes of new games flooding the market. Many credit this game with popularizing the genre on the iPhone.

Tap Defense is available for free on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 6) 7 Cities
Another more basic entry to the genre, 7 Cities gives gamers a series of hexagonal pieces on which to construct towers to protect their port against an onslaught of attacking ships and sea monsters. This game sports good upgrade options and many different maps with one-way paths for enemies to follow.

7 Cities is available for $.99 on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 5) TowerMadness
The quirkiest of this list, this game has gamers building towers to protect their sheep against attacking aliens. The aliens will take the path of least resistance as they make their way through your field of death. 3D graphics make this hilarious addition worth checking out.

TowerMadness is available for $2.99 on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 4) Sentinel
Sentinel is a space-oriented TD game which allows gamers to build hi-tech weapon towers to fight off assaults of more gruesome aliens. This iteration places walls in between the attackers which must be broken down, as well as the ability to heal those walls with sentry bots.

Sentinel is available for $.99 on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 3) Besiegement
Another basic-style TD game, Besiegement improves on the genre not by creating something very new, but by simply improving on the basics of the genre. Upgrades to towers in this game are intricate and in-depth, and the situations offered in this game are often very unique.

Besiegement is available for $.99 on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 2) Star Defense
Star Defense is the newest addition to the genre worth mentioning, and is also the most innovative. Three things set this game apart from the rest. First, Star Defense has fully 3D playing fields, which are rotated using the iPhone's multitouch capabilities. Second, this game allows for local head to head play with friends, as well as a leaderboard for scores. Last, this game offers achievements to be accomplished as you play through the game.

Star Defense is available for $5.99 on the App Store.

Best iPhone Tower Defense Games - 1) Fieldrunners
The most innovative does not equal the best, however. This is why Fieldrunners was saved for last. This is the game that put the genre on the map. Fieldrunners follows the basic pattern for the genre, with army men constantly assoulting your base, but has a polish unmatched by any of the other games on the list. If you are looking for only one game to introduce you to the tower defense genre, let it be Fieldrunners.

Fieldrunners is available for $2.99 on the App Store.

Honorable Mention - Zombie Attack
For those looking for a good laugh, try out this bizarre version. We won't spoil the surprise by telling you what sets it apart.

Zombie Attack is available for $2.99 on the App Store, but the free version is just as entertaining.

For more on iPhone games, check out these resources:

7 Best IPhone Games You Never Expected for Less $0.99
7 Best iPhone Games for Free
7 Best Arcade Style iPhone Games on the App Store
Top 10 IPhone Games - April 2009