Defense Grid

 
Developer: Hidden Path Entertainment
Steam Release: Dec 2008
Hours Played: 25.7
Similar To: Deathtrap / Defense Grid 2 / Fieldrunners / Sol Survivor 
Rating:  5/5 Parsnips




GAMEPLAY
Plants Vs Zombies may be the beginner's guide to tower defense but here's the Rolls Royce or the grand-daddy of them all. This moody, atmospheric offering is the classic introduction to the genre that gets it all right. When you start a mission you are presented with the map as you listen to a few words of a Hal-like computer with a posh English accent. You're shown where the aliens will appear from and where they exit to. You have an energy storage unit with glowing orbs (cores) around it which the aliens will attempt to pick up and steal as they try to exit the map. Clicking on a build square brings up the tower menu where you select, pay for and build the chosen tower along with the option to sell or upgrade it. Choosing the right type of tower is important. You add more when needed and then watch those creeps fry! 


BALANCE & PACE
You may place towers to create a simple maze to lengthen the creep's path and expose them to more missile fire, which makes the game more like a Fieldrunners than a Kingdom Rush. You are informed which type of aliens are entering the fray by referring to the symbols on the strip along the top. With absorbing dialogue, the first few levels do a great user-friendly job in settling you in and introducing you to all the mechanics. Mission 2 will hook you and you may well play it over and over again. Everything about this game is top-notch! The silky smooth zoom feature allows you to get up close to watch the fantastic detail, there is a speed-up feature which is spot-on in every respect, the difficulty is pitch-perfect, the graphics and animations are superb... and the list goes on.


PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The overall mood is quite sombre and serious but a few comical asides get thrown in by the well-spoken narrator for balance. Menus are slick, chunky and well-presented with the main-menu featuring seven paths. On pressing Play you get to the Campaign-Select screen. In the vanilla version you get The Awakening campaign which contains 20 missions. If you get the full shebang - and you'll want the full shebang - you get an additional four campaigns: Borderlands, Resurgence, You Monster and Containment which add an extra 4, 8, 8 and 8 missions to the package. That's 48 missions in total before we've even got to mention the modes within. Anyway, clicking on the campaign of your choice brings you to the mission-select screen...


PROGRESS SYSTEM
A solid tower defense game has to appeal to the geeks and the nerds so it must deliver in the progress and stats department. Needless to say it does. Across the top of the mission-selection are thumbnails for each mission. As you scroll through and highlight each one, information underneath is shown. You get your high-score, medal conditions, a list of up to ten different modes available, the medal you received for each completed mode and (when hovering over a mode) a description. It all seems too much to start with but by playing the story mode for each mission mechanics are gradually revealed in that user-friendly way. The frame-rate takes a small hit while scrolling through missions and I have experienced a couple of freezes but nothing to worry about.

CONCLUSION
If you only get one TD game ever, then make it this one. It's what all others should be measured by. Starting with simple maps along with first tier towers, the game pulls you in like a warm embrace on a bitterly cold day. Before you know it, you'll want to take the game to deeper levels and experiment. Even though you may wish to replay missions in the story mode again and again, completing the 20 missions of the awakening campaign is the tip of the iceberg as other mode types (as well as other campaigns) abound. Be aware that not all modes are available in all missions. My only criticism is that the reward system for gaining medals is a bit top-heavy; maybe medals awarded over more fair and regular boundaries would have topped the game off nicely - but this is a minor gripe in an otherwise near flawless game. Defense Grid is ideal for casual players and hardcore gamers alike and I have no hesitation in stating that it is the best tower defense game ever!