Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: 11 bit studios Developer: 11 bit studios Media: Download/1 Players: 1 - 2 (Local) Genre: Strategy/ Action
Graphics & Sound: Some genres fail to interest me. Tower defense is one of those genres. I know there are good ones out there, but I find it impossible to become invested in games that, as a rule of thumb, involve you as little as possible. So it's no surprise that Anomaly: Warzone Earth easily sank its hooks into me. Not only does it turn the rules of tower defense upside-down, it actually places you into the fray. The result is an engaging strategy action hybrid that is well worth the asking price. Anomaly: Warzone Earth takes place in Baghdad, hardly a place for artistically-inclined developers to draw inspiration. Despite this, the game looks fantastic, particularly in the scenery department. What's better is all of the visuals are in service to the fantastic gameplay. The major success is in the interface, which is clean, colorful, and accessible; mapping out your routes is a simple task, and the markers that display the range of deployed areas of effect are elegant and accurate. The explosions wouldn't be as satisfying if this was a shooter, but the satisfaction comes from the context. Again, Anomaly: Warzone Earth has its mind in the right place. While it sounds perfectly adequate for this type of game, it's not out to stun your ears. The music is pretty standard "serious alien invasion business" fare, while the voice acting is only there to remind you that you are indeed on Earth and playing on the side of the humans.
Gameplay: Anomaly: Warzone Earth throws together an alien invasion yarn as a means to an end, though I was surprised to find myself engaged in what was going on. Something sinister is afoot in Baghdad -- okay, something abnormally sinister. An alien ship has crashed, and a giant energy field has gone up around it. Additionally, it becomes clear that these aliens are not friendly; giant turrets and defenses have gone up, and they fire on anything that isn't them. Your job is to lead a team of special operatives into the field, which has been dubbed the Anomaly, and get to the center. So I've made it clear that Anomaly: Warzone Earth is not a tower defense game. It is tower offense. But it's not just that, either. You play as a commander whose primary role is reconnaissance. You are dropped into the fray with the forces you are given. You control where they go at certain junctions in the road, but they automatically fire on anything perceived to be hostile. Your job is to keep your units (and yourself) alive. But you don't simply keep pace with your convoy. You are given complete freedom of movement. You can go off the beaten path if you must -- in fact, this is something you'll be doing quite often. More on that later. In addition to the game's entertaining campaign, Anomaly: Warzone Earth features two unlockable modes: Baghdad Mayhem and Tokyo Raid. These modes have a lot in common with the campaign, but both of them involve getting through waves of enemies. For example, Baghdad Mayhem has you racing to destroy a handful of targets in a set time limit, while Tokyo Raid has you going through a collection of islands, each with their own challenges.
Difficulty: Anomaly: Warzone Earth is easy to get into. Mechanics are mixed into the core gameplay at a rate that makes them easy to digest, and they make their first appearances in levels that seem to be designed for the purpose of testing these abilities out. It's a smart way to work a tutorial into the actual game, and it's something that needs to be seen more in gaming these days. It offers three primary difficulty levels, each of which offers exactly what it advertises. Casual mode is a bit of a pushover, while Hardcore will have you absolutely scrambling to make the best use of every possible resource at your disposal to keep your convoy rolling. But regardless of which setting you pick, Anomaly remains inherently satisfying.
Game Mechanics: Each mission starts off by having you assemble your troops. They start you off with basic units, such as tanks and flying bug-looking offensive machines. The further you go, the more you'll have in your repertoire. And the more cash you earn by destroying emplacements, the more you'll be able to spend, either on reinforcements or upgrades for your existing units. So you buy your troops and start down your path. At any point during the mission, you can hit (Triangle) to zoom out to a tactical map displaying route options, as well as the estimated time it will take for the convoy to reach each junction. Emplacements stand out in red, which gives you a really good idea of which areas you should avoid. Or perhaps you'll create a loop and destroy everything in a second pass. The choice is yours, but you have limited resources with which to carry out your mission. Speaking of resources, you have a handful of special abilities that go a very long way in assisting your convoy. These include a healing beacon that repairs all friendly units within a specific circle area, a smokescreen that renders you virtually invisible to your enemies, a decoy that draws their fire away from you, and a good, old-fashioned scorched earth airstrike. These abilities are great fun to use, and even more so when they result in a victory that you otherwise would not have even come close to earning. These abilities are consumable, but they are often dropped as care packages the further you get into each level. You are not the only unit with abilities, however, and you must learn to adapt if the enemies use their own abilities. For example, if a hacker places a field near your destination, you must take care not to enter the field with your units. If you do, they will attack you. You must also try to keep your ability fields away from energizers, which absorb the energy and convert it into a blast of healing energy for enemy units. Anomaly: Warzone Earth comes highly recommended due to its excellent concept, great implementation, and engaging gameplay. It's a fresh twist on an arguably tired genre, and it's so fresh that it feels like its own beast. Long story short, if you're looking for something smart and innovative at a great value, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better example than Anomaly: Warzone Earth.
-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos
Related Links: Official Website of Anomaly: Warzone Earth
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