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6 Oct 2014 - 31 Oct 2014
After the events of the first game, we knew that the aliens would be back to launch a counter-attack. And we were right. World after world is threatened by these beasts, but now they seem different. They still charge in mindlessly, in single file at times, but there's something else, something darker that seems to be in charge. And it wants you.
I backed the Kickstarter for this game because I liked the first one so much. That game got me started on the whole tower defense kick that was popular for a while, but it was the only one that I didn't regret playing. Even the variations on the genre, like Sanctum and Orcs Must Die paled in comparison (to me) to Defense Grid.
I'm not sure why. I like first and third-person shooters, but Defense Grid just did everything right and in a simple, easy-to-understand format. It was a science fiction background, which I think set it apart from several at the time, but it certainly wasn't unique in that respect. But the lasers were cool, the monsters were diverse and threatening, and the goal was simple: don't let them walk away with your power cores. Power cores are life.
Even the map design didn't matter too much after the first couple levels. After a while they just let the player go and build towers wherever it was convienient. Build your own path that the aliens have to walk, and hopefully it's long enough that they're all wiped out by the end. It's a freedom to experiment and find out what works that I appreciate, and isn't necessarily reflected well in other tower defense games. Sanctum came close, I think, but it's nice to be able to pan out and look at everything all at once and see where something can be improved.
And this game is just more of the same. The story is silly, but the voice acting is top notch (even if it can't be muted when you're treating it as a score attack game, it's at least diverting). But now there are more challenges for each level, and the level designer is pretty impressive. By and large the designers were smart enough to leave the basic idea of the game alone while only shaving off some of the rough edges. Nothing too wild added, and only the worst parts taken away. Like the flying enemies - oh, those were so annoying in the first game, and so difficult to guard against. Here, they're nowhere to be found.
Best tower defense game I've ever played. Good for a relaxing evening of cooking aliens by the glow of the laser towers.