Sanctum 2, which was released on the XBox Live Network and on Steam on May 15th by independent game studio Coffee Stain Studios, appeals to more than one side of my gamer personality. Yes, I'll admit, I've spent more than a few hours planting pea-shooters to defend my home from zombies or shooting toy soldiers with flamethrowers as they march towards my base. And yes, I've spent more hours than I care to admit blasting Elites with needlers, quick-scoping, and zapping portals onto distant walls in order to make my way through a maze. Tower defense games and first-person shooters both, in general, have the necessary components to make for addictive gaming experiences. But can they be put into one neat, super-addictive package? Sanctum 2 makes an attempt to do so.
A Beautiful, Deadly World
First off, the game is beautiful: bright, colorful, and smooth. The cel-shaded animation is colorful and interesting. We're introduced to the game by way of a tutorial level, in which we are instructed on both the mundane and expected parts of the game (movement, aiming and firing our weapon, etc), as well as those that meld the first-person environment with the tower defense concept (the building and placement of defensive structures). The controls are quite simple, and for folks who are familiar with PC-based shooters, will be quite familiar. I was thrilled to find that the game flawlessly integrated the use of a gamepad; while the PC user might be more comfortable with the mouse and keyboard combination, I personally prefer the gamepad when playing shooters, and found the controls easy to learn and master.
“Be As a Tower Firmly Set”
Skills learned in other shooters will translate over to this game well: the ability to zoom and shoot, targeting a specific body part (the Lumes, the antagonist race in the game's campaign, all have "weak spots" which, when shot, produce extra damage), the use of multiple weapon types effectively, and so on. The firing of weapons feels good and the first person element is very immersive. Those tower defense skills will certainly come in handy as well, though: the building of "mazes" through which you steer your foes, lining them up to be shot, etc. The amalgam of the two skill sets makes for interesting tactical and strategic choices in-game, as different sets of enemies, with different abilities and weaknesses, will often approach from multiple points: players may choose to set up choke points, bristling with energy weapons and cannons, at the site of one approach, while focusing first-person fire on another, more lightly defended choke point. The variety of weapons, tower types, and character abilities make for a wide variety of options and combinations for the player, and these options expand as characters level up and skills are unlocked.
Building a Better Killing Machine
The progression of the game borrows more from its tower defense genetics than from shooters: each level consists of a series of waves, each wave progressively more challenging than the last and consisting of a wider variety of enemies. Between waves, construction takes place: the player builds turrets and turret bases until he or she runs out of resources, which are earned via pickups between waves. Then, the wave is started and the action begins, turrets rotating and blasting enemies, and the player jumping and running from place to place, putting down Lumes that make it past the turret gauntlet, and defending the Core, which produces vital oxygen and is the ultimate target of the attack. Similar to other tower defense games, the core is essentially the base, and has a number of hit points. An on-screen warning (along with vocalizations from the character) alert the player to a direct attack on the core.
That said, the character progression is very reminiscent of shooters. As players progress through scenarios, their characters level up, and each level brings new choices: backup weapons, tower types, and unique perks which improve the effectiveness of the player's primary weapon, how the core behaves, and so on. Players have a choice of primary weapons in their initial choice of character, as well: the characters have unique skills and abilities as well as weapons, including an assault-rifle wielding, double-jumping scout, a heavy weapons expert who sets Lumes on fire with each shot, a shotgun runner who does massive damage up close, and a sniper whose reach is very long.
Greater than the Sum of its Parts
The game works very well as a hybrid: the two phases in each wave essentially represent the two halves of the game, but don't feel like separate things. Phase one is the tower defense phase: constructing your series of tower bases, and placing cannons on those bases. Once you're done or you run out of resources, phase two begins: you draw your weapon and become, in essence, a moving tower defense element, running to put down threats as necessary.
The Verdict
For fans of both the tower defense and first-person shooter genres, this one is a no-brainer. At $14.99 on Steam and 1200 points on the Xbox Live network (with a similarly-priced PS3 release apparently on deck), Sanctum 2 has a large amount of bang for your buck. For folks who are not familiar with the tower defense side of this game, it might be worth checking out a demo or video before buying to familiarize with the gameplay concepts. Realistically, despite the first person interface and heavy shooter influence, it's still very much a tower defense game. In the end, though, this is a fun, challenging, beautiful game that you'll come back to, where one can drop in for a quick 15 minute game, or can spend a night solving the puzzle of how to defend the core. While I can’t speak to replay value until I finish the game, I’ll definitely be playing through to the end to find out. Highly recommended!
