Robot Entertainment are back with a second installment to their Orcs Must Die series, this time sporting a rather nifty Co-op mode, but aside from the inclusion of a friend, what’s so different about Orcs Must Die! 2?
Sadly not much, the game preserves the essentials from the previous game whilst adding a few new pieces here and there, the aforementioned Co-op mode is a nice add on, as well as the new character The Sorceress, a female character more specced towards magic, as opposed to the War Mage who is more Indiana Jones/Nathan Drake than he is Merlin or Gandalf.
The gameplay remains identical to OMD1, with the same dynamic tower defense model, allowing you to build defense as the round goes on, as well as defend with your own weapons and character.
Each character has a wide array of skills and with the new leveling up system there’s a huge selection of things to choose from, including new traps, new weapons and even costumes for each character, allowing the game to be replayed multiple times, in fact it’s encouraged, the later levels can become quite hard without the gear you’d have to grind from the earlier levels – However the addition of multiplayer makes grinding a little less painful.
As for story OMD2 doesn’t really provide you with much, but its goal isn’t to do so, it gives you a little bit of lore for the universe you’re in and lets you run around in it, it’s not a thriving universe but it has no intentions on being one.
It does introduce the two characters you can play to you quite heavily, something that can be viewed as either a positive or negative, depending on how you feel about the cheesy catchphrases and stale banter between the two. I found the charm of their ‘conversation’ to wear off within the first few matches and after that it simply felt like a married couple who hated each other for the sake of hating each other.
Whilst I can praise OMD2 for being a solid tower defense game, it’s very much more of what you liked; If you weren’t keen on the first title I don’t recommend picking this one up and if the premise of multi-player is what swings you round, then perhaps Dungeon Defenders four man multiplayer is for you.
You’ll also find that OMD2 will grate on you after a while, after an hour or two I was ready to turn off and not play for quite some time, even the newer levels felt like a drag to me and the mere premise of grinding them multiple times physically pained me, however, OMD2 is probably at the top of its genre, what it does it does well, allowing players to spice up their armory and at least attempt to vary their game play.
The game-play is fairly streamlined and the controls are much tighter this time round, but Orcs Must Die 2 is for the hardcore fan of tower defense players. Its co-op mode misses the nail on the head allowing Dungeon Defenders to hold onto their reign over that title, but worth picking up if you loved the first OMD or tower defense titles.
Platform: Steam
Developer: Robot Entertainment
Price: £12.99
STOP PRESS: Robot Entertainment have just announced Fire & Water, the first booster pack for Orcs Must Die! 2. The booster pack features three brand new levels and three new Endless Mode conversions that can be played in single-player or with a friend in co-op.
For more information visit www.OrcsMustDie.com