Spoids (XBLIG) is published and developed by indie developers Airwave Games. Spoids is a tower defence game which may put a lot of people off at first, due to the lack of gaming interest in tower defence games. Most gamers prefer something that is a little bit more challenging and I can tell you from playing this, that it is challenging when compared to other tower defence games. It does come across as very difficult in some levels.
The Spoids have invaded the planetary spectrum and we have received distress calls from the surrounding planets in our Galaxy. Your aim is to control the defence systems as you lead the front against an endless swarm of Spoids. In this epic and unique defence game you will travel from planet to planet fending off the Spoids as long as you can.
There are a total of eight levels to play in Spoids; so it is a pretty short game. Its single player only, so the only replay value comes in the form of medals. Every stage is graded using a platinum-gold-silver-bronze scale and is based on various benchmarks the game sets for you. Each objective is clearly spelt out at the beginning of each level, although it basically mounts to staying alive for X amount of time and/or not taking damage. This seems easily done once you have completed the first level.
The first level is easy, but if you completed it with no hiccups don’t think to yourself that this game is going to be a walk in the park as you progress through the next few levels, for you will sadly be mistaken. Whilst playing this game we researched into other reviewers who have had the opportunity to play this game and write about it, what we noticed is that like myself, my fellow reviewers have struggled to score above a bronze medal.
This initially comes down to the fact that the speed of attacks is faster than you can reasonably be expected to build your defences. You can earn extra money; this is based on the enemies you kill, so basically you do become limited in what you can do to defend yourself. You are able to set turrets to attack specific enemies or fire on them based on the perimeters that you set; otherwise the scope of what you can do is restricted. The further you progress through the levels, the harder it is to survive as your enemy begins to attack more frequently from multiple entry points. The channels available offer your enemy the upper hand with various routes to deviate from, making a more challenging game.
As difficult as levels 4 through to 7 are it is possible to beat the enemy; though you may need to attempt each level several times until you win. It just shows that patience is the key and with it you can conquer great tasks. Level 8 only has one goal and that is “to fend off an entire attack”. First attempt made me think this is impossible as there are several different enemies that you are required to build specific towers to defeat. We assure you this is not the case, if we and other reviewers can complete it you can too.
There are many different types of enemies which you will encounter within this game.Invisible enemies require you to build radar towers in order to make them visible all the time. Flying enemies you have to build a missile tower to fend off, the only thing is the missile towers are quite expensive especially since they are built to only attack the flying enemies and none of the others. Additionally there are a type of carrier enemy that sponge up bullets, even when you put up the most powerful of turrets, along with artillery to slow them down they take an absurd amount of hits before they are destroyed. Just when you think you have defeated them they strike back by unleashing super fast enemies that skate right past all your defences and lead you to failure.
Overall I would recommend Spoid to any gamers that thrive off challenges, as this is surely one of the more challenging tower defence games we have come across. A lot of gamers won’t want to risk trying this game if they have already been put off by this genre by previous game releases, but I will say that it is worth trying out at such a low price, even if you don’t enjoy the game all that much at least you can say I tried.
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.
