Review – Defense Grid 2 on Xbox One
Defense Grid 2 – the long awaited sequel to the popular Defense Grid: The Awakening, developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and published by 505 Games. Defense Grid 2 takes place in a futuristic setting with a mix of puzzle and strategy gameplay, and features a great new addition – multiplayer. This game was released on the 24th September, on the Xbox One, the PS4 and Steam on digital only.
The game is about placing towers down to protect the “cores” which the aliens need to retrieve and take back to the start of the level to successfully gather a core. Once all the cores are gone, it is game over, and you have to restart the level again. However, you can place down a range of towers to stop the aliens, such as the regular “Gun” tower which shoots regular bullets at the aliens, an “Inferno” tower which sets your enemies on fire, and a “Cannon” to blow the aliens up. Each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages, which makes the game more interesting.
Defense Grid 2 has a total of 21 missions in, with each chapter of the game containing 4 missions apart from the final chapter, which has 5 levels. Each level becomes progressively harder, with difficulty ranging from very easy to extremely hard. The game features an “upgrade” option for your towers which allows you to upgrade your tower twice. With no upgrades, the colour under your tower will be green, then with one upgrade it will turn yellow, and with the second and final upgrade the tower will turn red. This allows you to get through the harder levels much easier.
The game features a new addition – multiplayer. It did take me a while to get the invite system working as it is more complex that it needs to be – we featured some joining issues while testing multiplayer. The game’s multiplayer is 3 player co-op or competitive, with the co-op allowing you to play through the entire single player campaign with your friends or in matchmaking. The competitive multiplayer consists of online player vs player, which is very fast paced. Multiplayer, no matter what game mode you play, is extremely fun in Defense Grid 2.
Defense Grid 2’s enhanced graphics, all new alien types, and completely new level designs make it feel like a completely different game to Defense Grid: The Awakening, and offer a completely new, fun experience for old and new players alike. This game is now my favourite tower defense game I have ever played, and Hidden Path have made an amazing tower defense game.
Pros –
Great level design and graphics
Fun multiplayer
Ranging difficulty to make the game more interesting
A lot of content to keep you coming back
Cons –
Invite system for multiplayer is more complex than it needs to be
I am honoured to give Defense Grid 2 a 9/10!
9/10
