The original version of this game spent some time at the top of Konkregate‘s most popular games list, looking very smugly at all the other games below it who scrabbled for the lower podium positions; it held a similar accolade for even longer under the strategy subcategory. Then the 1.5 update of the game traipsed onto Kongregate and managed to retain and refresh interest in the game, and, in fact, in the flash tower defence genre, for far longer than most people expected, racking up nearly 6 and a halfmillion plays on Kongregate alone, the third highest on the site. This is, of course, the very same site that hosts incredibly well polished games such as Sonny, as well as personal favourites, Fancy Pants Adventures and The Last Stand.

Now enter Desktop Tower Defense Pro, the same game, but better. So not much has changed: there are still tons of little monsters trying to cross the screen, but this time these enemies include some new deviously designed foes that prove the game has a few fresh ideas: this includes lumbering black wedges that have a minimum damage threshold to even be injured, agile little critters that can jump across corners (often exploiting weaknesses in your design you didn’t even know existed), and enemies that change between all other types at whim. There are a handful of news weapons at your disposal to keep your own defensive layouts interesting too, as well as to help counter all the new tricks the game throws at you over the course of the ‘scenario mode’.

Arguably, however, the real draw here is the sandbox mode, which is essentially a ‘create your own tower defence level’ workshop. If you’re the kind who enjoys passively clicking on things while watching those things kill other things (if you’re any good, that is), that should keep you busy for quite some time. The game as a whole is simply a general improvement and application of polish, and fans of the original will have little to complain about. Of course, if you’ve never enjoyed the disconnectedness of tower defence games, Desktop TD Pro isn’t about to change your mind.