4 out of 5 stars.

Ponos Corp.’s latest game, The Battle Cats, is a free app available to download for most smartphones. Combining a basic display with humorous 2D graphics and charming, energetic music and sound effects, The Battle Cats is an extraordinary free app.

One of The Battle Cats’ most defining features is the titular Battle Cats.

These cats vary greatly in shape, size, and function. Players start with a basic cat, and gradually unlock and upgrade these cats into bigger, stronger, weirder creatures. Each cat fits a certain group of cats, such as fast cats, area attack cats, or strength cats. Some cats are powerful against red enemies, while some are good damage sponges that allow other battle-oriented cats to do more damage.

The display is very simple and easy to manage.

There are only two buttons  to use during game-play:  one to fire the Cat Cannon, a sweeping attack that damages all enemies in its range, and the other to fund the Work Cat, a passive cat that generates income for the cats. The Cat Cannon and Work Cat can both be upgraded just like the normal cats. Some stages are larger or smaller than others, creating an element of strategy to how much money should be invested in the Work Cat, or when the Cat Cannon should be fired in between recharges.

In the main menu, the game’s humor comes to light. After progressing far enough, players unlock new options such as the Encyclopedia, which gives humorous descriptions of all the enemies the player has encountered thus far.

The bread and butter of the app, like many others of its kind, is that it is free and addicting.

While players can opt to enhance their game by buying additional experience points and currency (cat food), the game is entirely free to play and offers daily rewards in the form of new cats, power-ups, and additional experience points.

The Battle Cats is an adorable and addicting app that combines traditional elements of tower defense strategy with simple visuals and a basic heads-up display. At the low cost of free, the app offers players with hours of entertaining gameplay and humorous quotes.

The Battle Cats is a perfect gaming app: fun, free, and entertaining.