Defense Technica, a game previously on mobile phones has come to steam recently by the developers Kuno Interactive, a rather unheard of company. Technica aims to set itself apart in the plethora of tower defence games and markets itself as a way forward in the genre, with its mech and gun heavy aesthetics and gameplay. But is this game up to par with its competition, or is it just another rusty rehash of other games?
Story
The main premise of the game is that the human race has started to explore the universe, settling on other planets. The humans soon come into contact with two alien races, the Hergus and the Cluff who seem very open to the idea of an alliance, and live out their lives together in harmony. Out of nowhere one of the alien races, the Hergus, attacks earth and completely decimates the human race, forcing them from their home world.
Your mission for the entirety of the game is to survive against the onslaught of alien scum as well as push them back enough to make a turn in the war. No other goal is presented to you, this being a tower defence and being all about defending rather than attacking.
The story seems very inconsequential and takes a back step to the game as a whole, adding fluff to a game which didn’t really benefit from it.
Gameplay
The gameplay is like any other tower defence out there, you select a plot on the battleground to place your turret, select a turret type and there you go a turret. There is no innovation to be felt in the systems at play in this game, for regular fans of the genre you will feel a great sense of déjà vu. You can choose from 8 different tower types, ranging from a machine gun, mortar cannon and anti-air missiles as well as upgrade them later on.
The levels are set out in a very simple manner in the beginning with single routes but quickly branch out to several points of entry for the enemies as well as choke points to hold them in, there are also floating platforms later on for those crucial anti-air missiles. The objective of each level is to keep the core alive, starting at 100% health and decreasing with every hit from a nearby enemy.
The levelling system in the game is very outdated, going for a medal based system that allows you to unlock the higher levels of turrets for in game. You spend 10 medals for the first tier, which then allows you to upgrade the tower to level 2 with the increase cost that brings, making the upgrading feel rather played down and slightly pointless. You don’t feel a big power boost, leaving grinding to be a fruitless venture.
The variety of enemies is great, both aesthetically and the way they go about fighting you, from the small runners and big brutes to the gorgeous air ships that fly towards your core. Both the enemies and turrets are animated very pleasingly, especially to an animator’s eye, and really add to the overall sight of the game.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
The music in the game isn’t really exciting to be honest, there are some nice tones to be heard and some energetic parts to the music, but against the sound of bullets and lasers firing it can get drowned out pretty easily. Though the sound effects themselves are pretty well done, they can become very overplayed rather quickly, making you want to turn down your sound or even put on your own music.
From porting to the pc from the mobile version, the game has ditched its pay to play aspects, the money and jewels being removed from the game, getting rid of some of the customisability and reducing the amount of ways you can make the game easier and more accessible. I feel as if these features should have stayed in the game, at least allowing them to be grindable from replaying levels and completing challenges.
The difficulty in the game can be very unforgiving, as the beginning levels can be breezed through but get increasingly harder, especially at level 10 when it becomes almost impossible. There is a way to make the game easier as you can kind of bait-and-switch with barricades to force the hordes of enemies to go back and forth between paths to increase the amount of time you have before they get to your core, making the game feel a bit cheap, but necessary to complete the later levels.
I would have to give Defense Technica a 2/5, it just feels too similar to other games in the genre and doesn’t really set itself apart at all in my own opinion. There are some great parts in the game, like its visuals and the strategy to be had in the levels, but not much else. Tower defence lovers will enjoy this game I reckon, if only for a while, anyone else I would suggest giving this one a miss.
Store Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/233110
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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