Although I'm not the most hard core tower defense game guru who's played them all... I played Field Runners a lot when it first came out for the iPhone, then moved on to 7 Cities (probably my overall favorite tower defense game on iPhone). I've tried a few others since then, and wasn't impressed. So it's been awhile since I tried any new one's. Recently I took the plunge and bought Plants Vs. Zombies for the iPad. And I've been playing it a ton lately. It's addictive and fun. The game play is balanced and well thought out. The game advances and becomes more elaborate, but gives you time to adjust to the new difficulties. You earn new plants and tools as the game progresses, which gives you a sense of accomplishment like you're working towards a goal. Overall it's a really well made game. My favorite on the iPad so far.
Plants vs. Zombies™ has been created by same developer who have developed classics like Bejeweled®, Peggle™, Zuma® and Bookworm™. It is high-definition, Multi-Touch adaptation of the PopCap hit! It has amazing graphics and game play. it is one of the best games for ipad this season