Sol Survivor

For Tower Defense Fans.

It's sad that this game is no longer for sale, and I do consider myself lucky for having picked it up while I could. The game is basically an alternative to Defense Grid, and if you loved Defense Grid, you'll really like this as well. There are certainly some shortcomings compared to DG, such as less-engaging music, lower-res visuals, and with each planet, you're forced to select which "Executive" (ie. Second In Command) to have at your command, and each one has their own array of weapons and backup abilities; while this allows the game to progress without feeling as repetitive as it might, it's a bit annoying as you'll finish one world and then lose that individual, and thus you now need to adapt to using someone else's layout. Fortunately this isn't that big of an issue, as most turrets have an alternative, like how Machineguns, Lasers and Radiation-towers are effectively the same thing, with just a different look and sound. With that, while the story certainly has much higher-stakes than those of the Defense Grid games, it is a bit of an odd story nonetheless - for example, on the first planet you're defending a massive oil field from alien control... Let's overlook the fact that oil is a byproduct of ancient life and the specific ways that their bodies broke down chemically and instead ask ourselves: why would oil be important? We live in an age of interstellar travel, so petrol & gasoline are pretty much useless unless you need something to generate an open flame. Now with those aside, this game is actually a lot of fun, and there are certainly some aspects of this game that is better than Defense Grid. For one thing, you have backup powers beyond just a single orbital laser, such as napalm drops and even a (very-mini) nuke. Also, while the graphics aren't particularly high-res, you are able to move the camera a lot more than you could in DF 1&2, allowing the world to feel more real as you're able to explore it with a free-roaming camera. There are also cloaked enemies, and the way how each Executive has to use a unique method of uncovering, and this most certainly keeps you on your toes, especially on the last planet where you can't build towers that will see these invisible enemies, and instead you must rely on short-lived flares. The campaign is about as long and the enemies thrown at you are plentiful, so you actually feel like you might be making a difference in a war. Unlike DG 1&2, you can actually select a wide array of build locations, rather than being locked-into just a few dozen at most, and while it doesn't change the game up all that much, it is nice to be able to build long-range towers in the middle of nowhere, in between multiple path-points. The balance in Standard difficulty is also better, as I was able to beat each mission with almost no lost..things (I don't actually know what the enemy is after in this game) - I'd be sweating like crazy throughout most of the battles, but I'd almost always come out on top, and it was always rewarding! Lastly, the architecture of the good-guy facilities that you are fighting right next to is actually quite nice; a bit generic but certainly a good touch to make the world feel more alive. Overall if you like the more straight-forward Tower Defense games (as opposed to those that try to reinvent - or enhance - the wheel), then this is about as good as it gets overall. It's not particularly polished, but the game is a lot of fun, and you will wish, in each level, that the enemy would throw a few more waves at you!