Don't get me wrong, though-the game's over when it runs out of tricks, and that's always the best place to call it good. Without much diversity in play or a strong story, I was happy that the campaign ended when it did. I found the same basic strategy of train-building served me well with little reason to deviate from it, and with just a few units to unlock and maps that are very similar in nature, things settle into a pattern too soon. However, while charting a course through deadly, alien-infested streets was pleasant enough, the basics of gameplay are quickly grasped and there's not much surprise in store. It requires clever thinking to take a well-entrenched formula like Tower Defense and turn it on its ear, so I appreciate this novel reinterpretation. A fully-powered chain of units is fierce, but it can still be reduced to scrap without a decoy to draw enemy fire away, or an airstrike to eliminate nasty chokepoints.Īnomaly: Warzone Earth is an interesting spin on a formula that's become too static. The defending aliens have no lack of firepower, so putting these abilities to use is of the utmost importance. During this time, the player controls a single super-soldier on the field who can use different abilities to safeguard the caravan – healing, a smokescreen, a decoy, and an airstrike. In any case, the units plow ahead like sluggish locomotives loaded with weaponry, and they target enemies automatically. Their brakes don't work? They're uncontrollably enthusiastic? I guess it's one of those things that a player shouldn't think too hard about….) (As an aside, there were several times during gameplay when I wondered exactly why I couldn't tell my troops to stop or slow down, and there's never any logic given for it. In essence, it's a slow-moving runaway train that needs to be guided safely to its station. The player is able to redirect them at each intersection as necessary, but there's no stopping them until they reach their goal or they die. Once a route is plotted, troops start moving forward at a steady pace. At this point, it's up to the player to plot a course for the tanks, missile launchers and supply units that will invade. When beginning a map, an overview of each area is given and all of the enemy's defenses can be seen. It may not seem like much of a difference but once the troops are in the trenches, it stands apart from the crowd. Instead of placing towers and wiping out approaching columns of enemies, the player is now the one invading. No, the value in Anomaly: Warzone Earth is how it flips the genre's overfamiliar structure. While the game tells a thin story of alien forces landing on Earth and annoying the populace, it's weak and has no bearing on play. It was with some hesitation that I sat down with Anomaly Warzone Earth, but I was happy to find that going from Tower Defense to Tower Offense got me interested again. The charm of placing guns and playing passively soon wore off, and it wore off hard. Unfortunately, that patch of earth proved to be a little too fertile-before I knew it, every third game was some sort of iteration on the formula. I'm always up for things that break new ground, and it was unlike anything else I had played at the time.

When I first found out about Tower Defense way back when, I thought it was an interesting genre. WTF It's never explained why your forces can't slow or stop. LOW Waiting one second too long to change course and getting mulched. HIGH Bringing maxed-out missile launchers to bear on the enemy. The Slow-moving Runaway Choo-choo Train of Deadly Death

Ps3 gameplay anomaly warzone earth