Despite a sharp take on tower defense games, The Last Ranger doesn't really offer anything new from last year's release.
At first glance, Dillon's Rolling Western looks more like a platformer, so it is rather cool to see it not take the usual "run around in 3D' route. On the other hand, though, the controls still don't quite work the way we would've liked them to. Moving about can be a real pain at times (Dillon spends most of his time rolling), and the pacing is off. There are no real improvements over the first, it's just the same old thing – rinse, repeat, and onto the next town.
That's not to say the gameplay isn't without merit, as setting up defenses has some ideal strategy to it, and some of the side missions do liven things up. But even as your weapons and tools power up, you never really feel like you're moving forward enough. In fact, in some cases, you may feel as if you're stumbling, especially with missions that feel like they take forever to complete. It's like the game wants you to earn your accomplishments, but takes too long to get there. The mini-games that pop up don't help either, as they fail to diversify The Last Ranger enough to hold any merit. (It doesn't help that the game's AI isn't the sharpest either – even your allies that you recruit don't hold a candle to your skills.)
Not much is changed in the presentation department either. While the music has a bit of Western charm behind it, it sounds very familiar to last year's game. The sound effects are okay, but, again, come off as recycled. And the graphics? Well, the 3D terrain does look pretty at times, especially as you (literally) roll into town and engage with the in-game characters, who are actually quite great. But the visuals can be murky in places, and there are times when you'll want to shoot the camera in the face, if it had a face. It works so far against you, you can't help but think that it's a part of the rock monster gang.
