Artificial Defense

Wow. I suppose that's the best word to describe my thoughts on this game. Finally, a tower defense game that innovates! And it's actually quite good! [h1]The Breakdown[/h1] So, let me clarify something - calling this a "tower defense" game is actually kind of horribly incorrect. It's more of an orbital shooter with a bit of TD and RTS sprinkled in the mix. I had initially thought I'd be placing towers and whatnot like usual, but instead the towers are merely an option the game includes to simply help you out. See, Artificial Defense is what some people have called an "orbital shooter", like I mentioned earlier. I've never really heard this term before, but it makes sense - one of your two methods available of killing the little nasty creeps invading your computer system (the setting of the game) is to rain down bullets, rockets, and bombs onto the little buggers. It's pretty interesting, and definitely makes the game seem more RTS-like than anything. Yet, there's also aspects of the tower defense genre of course. This means that you need to place production buildings to acquire RAM, which allows you to then either fire projectiles at the enemies yourself, since that costs RAM, or you can place either long range or short range towers. The long range towers have to reload, but their range is obviously a bit larger than the short range tower, which fires quicker but has a much smaller range than its counterpart. The weird thing is though that for the most part I found myself rarely using offensive towers. Instead, I preferred to rush production buildings and just fire away myself at the creeps. This is because the game isn't really about lasting as long as you can, though that option is available to you. Instead, the game's progression system focuses on completing a set of 3 objectives that are specific to each level. These can include just simply killing a set number of foes or something weirder like sending out some little blobs of your own to "conquer" a building on the playing field. And here's where the game becomes a little too chaotic for more casual RTS players like me: juggling the 3 objectives while simultaneously trying to survive can be a bit daunting for inexperienced players in the genre. Yet, the game does include 3 difficulty settings in case things become too hard. Thankfully, even though the 49 levels become harder as you progress, especially with the new enemies introduced every 7 levels or so, there's also a shop where upgrades for your weaponry, towers, or system itself can be bought. So, a really difficult level can be made a bit easier by buying new rockets for example. The interesting bit about the shop is that new upgrades aren't necessarily the best option for every level since older upgrades may actually be better depending on the situation. This creates a great extra layer of strategy in some cases and it's a nice touch that older upgrades can still be equipped. In terms of the basics, that's pretty much it. The graphics aren't incredible but they're functional and fit the theme of the game (since it takes place in a computer). What did impress me however is the music - it manages to be energetic and engaging while not being overbearing or annoying. It's some kind of electronic stuff, but I enjoyed it (can you tell that I'm a musical genius who just knows all the correct terminology?). [h1]Pros[/h1] [list] [*]Pretty neat gameplay mechanics - [b]more of an orbital shooter/RTS than a tower defense though, so just be aware[/b] [*]Diverse set of objectives - generally not just "survive", but much more varied and unique between levels [*]49 challenging levels with 3 difficulty settings (and an upgrade shop!) give no shortage of content [*]The music consists of some cool and catchy electronic tunes [*]Steam achievements, trading cards, controller support, and Cloud saves are all available [/list] [h1]Cons[/h1] [list] [*]The difficulty can be a little intimidating for inexperienced RTS players since the game is more RTS than TD (though there's multiple tutorials, lower difficulty levels and an upgrade shop to ease players in) [*]The graphics are serviceable, but they aren't anything noteworthy [*]Sound effects (especially that damn explosion noise when you exit a level) can be a bit loud by default [/list] Artificial Defense is something unique for its genre(s?), and that's one of the key factors I personally look at when deciding if I'm interested in a game or not. It's more of a RTS than a tower defense game, but for fans of either genre, it's a fantastic title to check out. Plus, it's made by one guy! [h1][b]Final Verdict: 8.5/10[/b][/h1]

A nice mix of genres. Artificical Defense is not just an ordinary TD game, because you spend only ~15% of total gaming time on postioning and upgrading towers. The game contains some RTS elements. You can place "mines" and increase you "gold" income defending "harvesters". You will spend the most of gaming time on aiming the enemies from the orbital. It' really cool. You have 3 different weapons: cannon (a couple of fast but weak shots with small area of effect), rocket launcher (average damage and average area) and bomb (one slow shot with huge damage and area). Every shot cost "gold". So you can't just shoot, because you will out of money soon. You must aim carefully. Every shot has delay before impact. If you kill some neutral enemies this will have bad consequences. I found this part of the game the most interesting. You have a main objective and 2 bonus objectives for every mission. If you complete them you get "RAM" in-game value. You can spend it on various upgrades for weapons and towers beetwen missions. I like the game setting. You are defensive program which proctects the computer. Actually, i can't undestand why the programm use Rockets and Bomb inside PC. It's nonsense. I would replace them with Anti-virus, Firewall, etc. It would perfectly fit. Anyway, i like how the game looks. UI design is undestanding. Effects are at the proper level. What i didn't like. - The first tutoring mission made me angry. You have to make exact actions but sometimes you don't undestand what you need to do. I wish developer improves it. - There is the same map for several campaign missions. Yeah, every mission has diffrenet objectives and enemies' waves every time . But i would like to see more maps in the game. - Music is good. But there is only 1 track for 1 chapter. It gets annoying very soon. - I would like to see more diversity in towers and enemies. Game is good (especially for one man made). Game is cheap. If you see this game on a sale , I recommend you to buy it. You will like it.

[h1]A very entertaining, smartly designed game[/h1] [i][b]TL;DR[/b] at the end[/i] [quote=][b]Time to complete[/b] 12hrs[b]+[/b], heavily depends on your difficulty setting [b]Time to 100%[/b] less than 18hrs [b]Difficulty[/b]: [■□□□□] to [■■■□□] - Easy to Mildly Challenging [b]Audience[/b]: Casual - ■□□□□ - Hardcore [b]Genre[/b]: RTS, TD [/quote] Very nicely executed gameplay, with a lot of [b]freedom[/b] to play around and counter [b][u]smartly designed hurdles[/u][/b]. The music and visuals are [b]pretty good[/b] and blend well with the idea of the game, which has [b]very few to no bad points[/b]. [h1][b][i]Very few[/i] bad points,[/b][/h1] since currently some of the last levels are [b]incredibly frustrating[/b] and [b]not fun[/b] to play, as they don't rely on player skill, but most players probably [u]won't even get there[/u], and this issue is most likely going to be [b]fixed[/b] in not so long, so this is not a very big deal [h1][b]Game Design[/b][/h1] [list] [*]All the good parts of the Tower Defense genre's game mechanics, and with a lot more liberty of playstyle [*]You can easily adapt the difficulty to your liking: the game offers [i]3 difficulty settings[/i] which have almost no impact on your progression into the game, and the [b]various amount[/b] of upgrades allow you to efficiently dampen the difficulty of any level to your liking [/list] [h1][b]Gameplay[/b][/h1] Unfolds very [b]nicely[/b], it's pleasant to take in hand and master, not too hard to get used to, and most importantly it is really nice to play and go back to, to the point where it's [u]almost addicting[/u]. [list] [*]The various aspects of the game blend together [b]very smoothly[/b]. You can focus on what you are most proficient with, or use every asset available to you, since one playstyle is not more efficient than the other. Furthermore, the amount of options available to you is [b]big enough[/b] that you can [u]always[/u] find something you are [b]comfortable with[/b] [*]You can freely switch in-between levels, and replay any level on any difficulty. Levels are [b]very easy to unlock[/b] (all you have to do is complete others), and any unlocked level can be played at [u]any time[/u]. The difference in difficulty between levels is small enough that you are able to [b]successfully complete[/b] ahead later levels with [u]just a bit[/u] of skillful play [/list] [h1][b]Level Design[/b][/h1] Varied levels, containing lots of [b]smartly crafted maps[/b]. The layout of each map is [b]very different[/b], and each of them asks for a particular playstyle, adding a [b]lot of diversity[/b] to the gameplay. [list] [*]The map design is a [u]lot richer[/u] than a regular TD game's, because each map instead of just having a few [i]unblockable paths[/i], has multiple path routes, some of which can be [b]blocked[/b], and each can have a different way of being controlled. That means, unlike other TD games, you can just use [b]countermeasures[/b] for every path instead of placing towers alongside it [*]On top of that, the different pathways of each map are surrounded by [i]various elements[/i] you can interact with. Because of the way the maps are designed, each level unveils its available strategies like a [b]clever puzzle[/b] that you have to understand in order to be efficient [/list] [h1][b]Progression[/b][/h1] As said briefly above, the game gives you a [b]lot of freedom of choice[/b], and you can progress in the way you want [list] [*]Various [b]reward mechanics[/b] are available to make playing and replaying levels serve your interests and strategies [*]Very interesting upgrade system, where instead of just getting [i]better gear[/i] than the previous, upgrades have unique features which means that sometimes just buying bigger is not better, and gives you an opportunity to choose what you are most comfortable with [/list] [b]TL;DR[/b]: Neat game with clever gameplay, that blends genres very well and lets the player choose their own playstyle

[h1] IDE[/h1] [i] Artificial Defense[/i] – вертикальный шутер с элементами tower defense. Нам предстоит вручную отстреливать толпы вирусов, потому как на башни надеяться не приходится, они строятся только на определённых участках, и в начале вносят слишком мало урона. В итоге потеть мы будем очень много и долго. Если в гейплее разработчики полностью облажались, то со стилистикой всё даже очень неплохо, музыка, конечно, на любителя. В отличии от других собратьев по жанру [i] Artificial Defense[/i] делает сильный упор на вертикальную стрельбу, да выделяется стилистикой, этого всего мало, чтобы увлечь игрока за игровой процесс, лучше обратите внимание на серию [i] Anomaly[/i].

This game is freaking awesome, it's more of an orbital bombаrdments than classic TD, but still you have towers to protect your core. +Juicy graphics, explosions, this game just looks cool despite how simplified it is. +Great music - different music tracks, not getting bored by them and they are good. +Nice strategy game - well strategy varies depending on your current upgrades, on the mission targets, and on how do you plan to win, you can build a lot of turrets or you can build a lot of RAM income and fewer turrets if you have upgraded guns and rockets. +Nice balanced difficulty - easy mods are easy @ gold medal mod is pretty challenging. +You can compare your results for every mission completed with other people (like top 3% overall score or top 68%) +Steam achievements, steam cards +Cheap -None And the most surprising part is that all of that stuff have been made by a single person :O

[u]What I liked:[/u] [list] [*]Cool concept of orbital shooting [*]Weapon and turret upgrades looking interesting [/list] [u]What You Need to Know:[/u] [list] [*]Game is not a normal TD game, the way you beat a level is to complete the challenges, which also give you the resources needed to upgrade( you do get some even if you lose) [*]Your main goal is to complete the 3 challenges, once that is done you can then end the match, as the enemies will keep spawning [*]Seems like replaying the same levels over again at the beginning is the the only way to upgrade to beat almost any level beyond the first 2. [*]You will get overwhelmed with enemies, and using the starting few weapons are a joke for how many enemies you have to keep away even when lowering the difficulty to easy [*]Overall the orbital shooting that made it unique, is also the least fun and very tedious with how much you need to kill with the weapons given, so I didn't care for it(odd you think having alot of enemies would make it more fun, but not when you have to pinpoint kill every little creature. [*]Also the turrets don't help at all, it felt like why bother having them. Maybe when you upgrade everything this game would be amazing, I just don't want to go through the grind and not enjoy it along the way( I'm ok with grinding when it's done right. Killing Floor, Payday) [*]Upgrades cost is crazy for lvl 3, don't know beyond that, but bet it's higher. going from 4k to 32k and not having good enough weapons to beat later mission, meant that I would have to play the last level 32 times to get one new upgrade since my weapons sucked. [/list] [h1]My Score:[/h1] [b]D[/b] [b]Price:$1.75[/b] [b]Main reason for dislike: too tedious with killing enemies given the weapons at hand[/b] Games similar that are better: [list] [*]Creeper World 3 [*]Infested Planet [*]GemCraft [/list]

First off, don't expect this to be your run-of-the-mill tower defense game. This game focuses heavily on resource management and plays more like a hybrid shooter/tower defense. The tower cost scales up quickly so you can only afford to place a few strategic ones to back you up. The rest you have to shoot down with projectiles/missiles/bombs manually, and every one of those costs resources. So this is not one of those place towers and watch things die TD games. It is more challenging than most TDs, but has an interesting balance. I found it to be quite enjoyable, though frustrating at times in a type II fun sort of way. The developer is very active. Just today I had an issue with the game, which I posted on the discussion board. Someone on the board picked up on it, notified me that the developer was offline at the time, that he has forwarded this to him. The issue was acknowledged, responded to on the board, solved, and patched within 24 hours of the issue being posted on the board. For an one-man-show developer, that is impressive. In short, if you're looking to try a new TD hybrid that is challenging, I would recommend giving this game a try. It's a fun indie game with a developer that I feel is worth supporting.

No problems/bugs encountered so far. The game itself has a unique concept where you have to fend off invaders by using a combination of different weapons, each with its own advantages and flaws. Stronger weapons have, in general a longer cooldown, etc There is often a delay between firing and the projectiles actually hitting their targets, so smart aiming and predicting your targets\' movements is essential. It is based on the tower defense gameplay but unlike most tower defense games you dont just place them and wait what happens. You have to actively destroy your enemies.

It plays a bit like a top-down Sanctum in that, the player shooting baddies is key to surviving, although the shooting itself is vaguely reminiscent of Atom Zombie Shooter or, if you prefer, the special powers in Sol Survivor. The main problem which however soured me off the game, is its committing one of the cardinal sins of game design: the player is given a lot (can't say all for sure) of the upgrades to play the, belabored, tutorial levels, then stripped of them and thrown into the actual game. Additionally, all of the weapons have sort of a ballistic effect, in that the ammo takes time to reach the ground: crucially, the tutorial teaches the timings for the fully-upgraded weapons, then dialing it all the way back so even the basic 'sniper' shot (or basic/shortest reload time) takes what feels like an incredible long time to get to the ground, turning a mechanic that already wasn't all that enjoyable in the first place, into sheer frustration when trying to hit fast-moving targets. In fact, it does seem the developer may be aware of some parts of this issue, having released [url=http://steamcommunity.com/games/443420/announcements/detail/527312601041852492]a 'balance update'[/url] aiming to make the game easier, whereas I feel, after the update, it's not so much that the game is hard per se, but rather, assuming the shot timing is fully intentional, that the way the weapons are introduced is hardly the best: a difficulty curve is almost invariably about offering just enough challenge to make the player get better while at the same time making them feel good about themselves, this game has it backwards. The whole design seems pretty elaborate, with many different units and building types; maybe too elaborate, and I would say front-loaded, making the introduction feeling rushed and sort of confusing, especially in comparison to the studied difficulty curve and pace, and essential design, of classics of the genre like Defense Grid. I also feel the computer metaphor is quite strained and doesn't really work all that well: the main currency is called RAM, and it's gained by shooting baddies and in other ways, like ...connecting to databases and building production towers ...huh ? And lost by having the baddies reach the OS (?); I'm afraid it doesn't make a terrible lot of sense to me: at some point even 'medic' units are introduced - how do medics fit in this self-proclaimed "VR" world? Nevertheless, mechanically, there may be a decent enough game in there, but I'll never know because the way it is designed lost me before I could find it.

Good music and Good graphic, And till now still cant control properly 10/10 - Wanna learn it more