Review

Anomaly: Warzone Earth

I’ve said it once and I’m saying it again; some of the best games released aren’t the triple A titles you’d expect. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be great large budget games. I just feel that the digitally released, lower budget titles have been better lately. This brings me to Anomaly: Warzone Earth, developed by 11 bit studios. After spending some time with this game, I’m happy to say it can be added to the long list of great digital titles being released this year!

Anomaly is a perfect name for this fresh take on the Tower Defense genre. The story follows the 14th Platoon, an armored battalion that is sent to investigate strange happenings around the world. It seems that an alien spacecraft was destroyed somewhere over earth, with large sections of it crash-landing in major cities. A few minutes after that large energy fields appeared over each crash site, obscuring the sites from view. Of course the 14th Platoon is sent in to find out what’s going on. The story isn’t particularly original and while you won’t try to frantically move through dialogue and cutscenes out of boredom, you aren’t necessarily at the edge of your seat to find out what’s going to happen next.  Besides, the gameplay is what really matters here. Not only does this title feature the great gameplay of its original release (on PC/Mac) but also adds new elements for the Xbox 360.

Anomaly plays like a tower defense title but in reverse. Aliens have landed around the crash parts of the fallen spaceship and have set up defensive towers that attack any humans in range. Gamers will need to lead their convoy of armored vehicles through these dangerous areas in order to complete their objectives. Usually you have a limited amount of control in normal tower defense titles;  the only thing you can control is where and what towers are built in order to defend against waves of enemies. Anomaly is similar in that you can’t directly control the convoy as they move along city streets, but you can plan its route. Pressing the Y button will bring up a tactical view of the warzone (pausing the game), allowing you to change where the convoy will go at different intersections. This creates an interesting puzzle like game element as you try to plan the best route to your objective, making sure you don’t lose any allies along the way. For instance, let’s say an objective is being guarded by a really strong defensive tower. Attacking from the front in most cases would be suicide. However, you know that this particular turret’s turn radius isn’t a full 360 degrees. So, using the tactical view, you can send your convoy around the backside of this turret where it is totally defenseless. It feels great when just a little forward thinking gets you past a tough obstacle!

Route planning isn’t the only strategic element at work here. You will also need to effectively manage your money. Destroying alien towers and canisters scattered around the map grants you credits to use on more units. It also allows you to upgrade the units you already have. The best use of your finances depends on the mission at hand. Do you get a shield-generating vehicle to help protect some of your units or do you spend more on a tank? Do you just upgrade your current vehicles with more armor and stronger weapons hoping for the best? Sometimes just moving a unit to the front or back of the convoy can save you some dough for later options. For instance, you wouldn’t want the weaker units in front. The shield generating vehicle only protects the units directly in front and behind it. These decisions aren’t too hard to make, since you can always just press X to bring up a menu to buy, sell, or move units both before and during missions. Understanding how each vehicle works is key!

One of the newest additions is the Commander, a player-controlled infantry unit. You can move him around to dispense or collect power ups to support your convoy in real time. All of the power ups are defensive in nature, with some restoring life to your units and others creating target decoys. Over the course of a level, new power ups will be dropped by friendly jets or found after destroying certain units. The catch here is that the jets won’t always drop a power up in front of you (they spawn based on where your convoy is on the map). This means you would have to run your commander over to get it, while your convoy keeps moving down its chosen path. It might not be a good idea to run for a power up if your convoy is about to take on heavy resistance, they’ll need your help.

All of these things add up to one addictive game. The concept is simple and genius at the same time. This backward tower defense gameplay is fun by itself but throwing in the route planning and other RTS elements makes it hard to put down. Not only that, but 11 bit studios also added new Tactical Trial levels that are exclusive to the Xbox 360. Starting with limited resources, these tough levels require great planning in order to make it through. Then there is the Squad Assault Modes where you have to complete 10 objectives within a given time limit. The action is quite hectic as you plow through defensive units. Again, it’s very addictive. Just one more minute can easily turn into another hour, which isn’t a bad thing when you’re having fun!

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is definitely one of the better games I’ve played this year. Adding in nice graphics, decent audio, leaderboard tracking and more, easily makes this a no-brainer purchase. Even if you don’t like this genre, I’d recommend at least playing the demo. You won’t be sorry!