Developer: 11 Bit Studio
Publisher: 11 Bit Studio
Platform: PC, Linux, OS X, iOS, Android
Release date: Q2 2014
Anomaly Defenders – Preview
Anomaly Defenders is the latest installment of the Anomaly series by 11 Bit Studio. Previously, the Anomaly series introduced you to a Tower Offense gameplay where you needed to destroy the alien towers in order to save your convoy and planet. The humans have resisted the invasion and now launched a counter attack. In Anomaly Defenders, you are helping the aliens defend their home planet so that they may escape via the launchpads by taking a defensive position.
The Anomaly series introduced us to a reverse tower defense gameplay but its latest installment is changing that once more. Now they’re talking about a reserve tower offense gameplay, which in all seriousness is nothing more than a tower defense gameplay. While Anomaly Defenders is going back to the root of a traditional tower defense formula, there are some extra twists to be discovered in the game that separates it from the classic tower defense games.
While the storyline is simple, it fits the whole idea of going back to the classic tower defense games. The humans struggled against the alien invasion but were victorious in combat and are now looking for retribution. They have brought their convoy to the alien home planet and it is up to you to make sure that the aliens are able to escape. You need to prove yourself to be the ultimate commander in 24 missions, each with three different difficulties. Each succeeded mission will grant you technology points. Easy mode will grant you six, normal mode will grant you seven and hard mode grants eight points. In total you can only receive a total of eight points per mission so it is entirely up to you if you want to play a mission once, twice or three times to be sure of your victory. These technology points can be spend in the technology tree, which acts like a skilltree where you can purchase and upgrade your towers. Additionally you can also purchase perks that act as passive talents and offensive functions which have a limited duration of up-time. If you are not happy with your choice of purchase, you can always resell the technology thus allowing you to buy something entirely else. All-in-all you can make use eight towers each with 3 upgrade possibilities, five perks and six types of functions for your towers.
Anomaly Defenders has a typical tower defense gameplay with an added twist that the attackers are able to strike back and occasionally destroy your strategically placed towers. You will need to wipe the humans out before they reach the launchpad, which at times is easier said than done. Crushing the human troops will award you with carusaurum and energy. The carusaurum is needed to build and upgrade your towers and certain missions will have extra carusaurum deposits which you can harvest. Energy is needed to repair damaged towers and give them extra offensive functions such as a shield, rage to provide extra damage and more for a limited duration of time. Carusaurum is automatically added to your storage but energy needs to be picked up manually. This feature is fairly good if you have a small energy capacity, which you can upgrade over time in the technology tree. However unused energy on the field will disappear after a short while so you will need a good strategy if you prefer to spend your technology points on extra towers and offensive functions. Another twist added in the game is that the humans and their various types of vehicles are not your only enemy. There are also meteorites that can inflict some serious damage to your towers but they will also wreak the human forces.
While Anomaly Defenders does not have the graphical features that made the Anomaly series so outstanding, it does not lessens the details on the maps. The general feel of the maps are quite dark, with several alienated buildings along the path but with the estranged flora added in the mix, the graphics are still impressive for a reverse tower offensive gameplay. The game does not have much ambiance sound but there is a constant reminder of what is about to come. You will hear several types of warnings such as attackers that are approaching, a carusaurum deposit that is depleted and even when a meteorite strike is imminent on one of your towers. These warnings make the gameplay so much easier as you can focus entirely on your towers without having to spam the pause button to see what is going on where.
Conclusion
Most are baffled that one would even consider going back to the customary tower defense gameplay after the Anomaly series has introduced us to the tower offense gameplay but in this case, it is not a bad move. The storyline fits, the graphics are outstanding once more and while the gameplay feels traditional at its core, the extra twists that are added in make it yet another stellar title in the Anomaly series.
Anomaly Defenders is available for pre-order via the company’s Game Republic platform and will grant you a free copy of Anomaly 2 for all platforms as well as a Steam key and a DRM-free version of Anomaly Defenders.
Anomaly Defenders - Preview,
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[…] Anomaly Defenders is the latest and last installment of the Anomaly series by 11 Bit Studios. While the previous installments introduced us to the tower offensive gameplay, the end of the series has gone back to its traditional roots, namely the tower defensive gameplay. If you missed the preview of Anomaly Defenders, you can read it here. […]