Do you love tower defense games as much I do? Check out gameplay footage and my take on it after the game.
So rewind to December 2008. I had just finished my first semester at college, and I was at home with my Xbox 360. I was reading about what games to get in the holiday rush, and I stumbled across a game called Defense Grid: The Awakening. I was intrigued and read more into it. It turns out that it was a tower defense game being released for the Xbox 360. I was ecstatic. Tower defense games have long been my favorite type of game. They take lots of strategy and condense it down to a simple formula that is super addicting and always fun to play. So I bought the game and I fell in love with it.
So for those uninitiated in the formula of tower defense games, there's two types of tower defense games: path tower defense games, and sandbox tower defense games (These aren't official at all). Path tower defense games carry a bunch of bad guys down a set path, and you have to set up stationary guns or turrets or whatever along the side of the path and have these guns shoot down the bad guys. It's a set path, and you have until they get to the end before you lose. There's no modifications you make to the path, but you can put as many turrets along the path as you want. And then there are sandbox tower defense games. These are fun because they give you a blank canvas and allow for you to make your own path for the bad guys to go through. It adds a whole new level of strategy to the game. Go look up Bubble Tanks Tower Defense on the internet (its a free flash game, sorry for your wasted afternoon!) for more of an idea of what I'm talking about.
However, Defense Grid combines both of these elements into something magnificent. The maps are designed with a clear pattern in mind, however, there are bits of platforms where the player is free to try and guide the bad guys in whatever direction he wants. It was a magnificent premise, and it played wonderfully. There was a diversity of turrets, the levels were fun, and there was a ton of replay factor for a tower defense game. And overall, it was a well heralded game, getting several DLC packs, including a neat Portal knock-off level, with the voice of Glados making an appearance.
But then there was nothing. Dead silence. Nothing from Hidden Path, the makers, until 2012. And then a Kickstarter appeared, trying to source the funds for the game. I wish I had known about it, because I would have given money to it (money i didn't have yet, but still). The Kickstarter succeeded, and they got to work. Where I ended up remembering the game and my love for Defense Grid was at Pax East this year. I saw a booth for them, and I made a conscious effort to visit their booth that day. I went and played the game and remembered the game I had fallen in love with so many years ago. So they gave me a code for a free download for playing the game.
Fast forward to October. It's been several months since PAX, and I had stumbled upon the code I found. I checked the website, and although it had come out a little later than the card had said, it was out! I was so ecstatic. I chose to buy the game on my PS4, because I wanted the multiplayer, and I gifted the code to a fellow tower defense enthusiast.
The first thing to note about the game is that the system hasn't changed much. It's the same premise, and nothing radical has been introduced. This is a great thing, as it's a tower defense game, it doesn't need to to revolutionize the formula. There is a story behind the game, but I haven't been paying a lot of attention to it. The characters are well done, and people who played to first may recognize the beloved characters from the first, however, it seems the throw too many new people into the mix, and the beloved characters end up getting washed in with the bland chaarcters, and it hurts the whole thing.
But when that's the only bad thing I can say about the game, you know the game is doing something right. There are 21 levels (right now, please Hidden Path, give us some DLC), but it's not like that's all because each level has normal mode, and then tons of special modes that make it harder to finish with a perfect method. There's a ton of customization for each turret, and the characters now have special abilities, so playing through with or without those abilities creates new obstacles.
On the whole, it's a very engaging experience, one that will make you think. The variety of weapons, enemies and stages will make you think, and that's the recipe for a great tower defense game. I highly recommend checking it out.
- If you play tower defense games, this should already be in your library.
- If you have never played a tower defense game, but you love strategy games, you should play this. The strategy aspect is deeper than you would think.
- If you are a casual gamer, it's worth a try before you pick up. The Easy mode is pretty easy to pick up, and it's simplistic controls make the game easy to learn, but hard to master (always a great quality to have in a game).
- If you don't like strategy games or tower defense games, then its not going to convert you. It's a good game, but if this isn't your cup of tea, it isn't going to suddenly change that.
Overall I give this game an 8.5/10, for the price you pay for it, the fun is limitless and I can't wait for the DLC to come out.
Check out some gameplay footage below (this is taken from a close perspective, you can zoom out quite a bit so you can see the whole field)
Have a great Friday!
-David
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