(XBLA/PC/Mac/Mobile) Anomaly: Warzone Earth Review

22/04/2012

Anomaly: Warzone Earth
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: 11 Bit Studios
Platforms: XBLA, PC, Mac, iOS, Andriod
Genre: Strategy/Tower Defense
Modes: Single Player

Personally, im getting pretty sick of Tower Defense games. I'm sick of Xbox Live and the iPhone app store seemingly adding a new Tower Defense title every week, and I'm sick of developers trying to put their own spin on the subgenre to try and sell their game. No one is trying anything that is actually new, they're just cramming any idea into a game to make it stand out. I have played 'Final Fantasy Crystal Defenders', 'Defense Grid', 'Orcs Must Die', 'Dungeon Defenders', 'South Park: Let's Go Tower Defense Play', 'Trenched (Iron Brigade)', and 'Defenders of Ardania'. After the deplorable Defenders of Ardania, I had sincerely doubted any Tower Defense game I hadn't heard of was going to be worth its bandwidth and that unless some big name developer like Capcom made a Dead Rising Tower Defense, I would pretty much avoid most entries in the Tower Defense genre.

Yet another Tower Defense game has been released, entitled 'Anomaly: Warzone Earth', where players take on a role which is probably the opposite of they are accustomed to: playing as the invading force, and not the defenders. I had thought to myself that this was perhaps just a shallow gimmick, and that something as simple as switching sides would grow old pretty fast. Thankfully, I could not have been more wrong, as what lies underneath such a simple concept is a very accomplished game, and one that proves to be highly entertaining.

Gameplay
Anomaly: Warzone Earth opens with the silliest opening video I have seen in a long time. A huge meteor collides with the Earth, impacting specifically with Baghdad, as a British officer in some fictitious armed forces narrates the spectacularly unoriginal lines of "We looked to the heavens" and (when describing the meteor's collision) "I know. I was there." All dialogue in the opening scene is pointless, as the text and imagery themselves are adequate enough to illustrate what has happened on "day zero".

The meteor, as it turns out, is not a meteor at all (what a shock!), but rather some sort of alien life-encapsulating dome, sent to make the conditions for an alien invasion necessary. The next shot cuts to the present day, and we are shown a ridiculously outfitted soldier (complete with the game's four ability logos glowing fluorescently on his back) leading armored combat vehicles into the dome. Okay, so I wasn't expecting amazing writing, but I did expect something mildly original, or for the silly story and writing to better explain Anomaly: Warzone Earth's gameplay or tactics. It does not (even in the slightest), but the gameplay more than makes up for it (once you get past the obligatory boring tutorials stages).

Players take control of a commanding officer, who primarily directs friendly vehicles through obstacles and past towers into various infiltration or exfiltration points at the end of a large city. Players will have to change routes by selecting various checkpoints throughout the city with the A button, making use of Baghdad's multiple interwoven streets to avoid large groups of towers (that is, until friendly vehicles have been upgraded enough to engage them in combat efficiently), as well as ‘Behemoths’ and other dangerous enemies.

The commanding officer is on foot, and while he is quite vulnerable, he does have regenerating health, (as one would expect from a soldier in a modern video game) and is incredibly fast, making collecting item drops and repairing vehicles that little bit easier. Defeating enemy towers rewards the player with money, and occasionally, item drops. Items can be used via a menu accessed with the A button, the four items are mapped to four different directions, and each is especially effective when used correctly. Repairs, when used, enable a regenerative area of effect for vehicles to drive through, Smoke Screens allow the player to avoid enemies that are dangerous head-on, Decoys distract the enemies with a holographic tank (albeit with extremely limited health) and Airstrikes devastate the area with a barrage of explosive missiles.

The money obtained from defeating enemies can be used to purchase additional vehicles, or upgrade current ones. Often at times how best to use the money can be a daunting decision, but playing the missions on an easier difficulty setting allowed me to learn how to best utilize funds. The game's controls are quite simple, and allow players to make decisions quickly and efficiently during missions. What I really enjoy about Anomaly: Warzone Earth is that there is a careful balance between what should be complex, and what should be simple, something that can often be missing from tower defense titles, such as Defense grid.

Graphics
Anomaly: Warzone Earth looks fantastic. Not just in terms of graphical finesse, but also in the way 11 Bit Studios have used colour and contrast. Everything friendly has a strong blue outline, everything the enemy has deployed has a strong red outline. These small stylistic choices make the enemy and friendly units always visible, and easy to keep track of, even in heavy firefights. This also allows for some great animations in the foreground, from explosions, to subtle effects such as dust and debris flying around.

The edges of the screen also have a slight colour difference, which draws the players’ eyes into the center of the screen, whilst still being able to take in the rest of the level. The game's display is minimalist in its execution, with only icons, the mission score, and current objective being displayed during gameplay. I have been known to be rather hard to please with games, but I cannot find a single negative word for the graphics and art direction of Anomaly: Warzone Earth. It really does look great, and shines in comparison to other XBLA games, especially other tower defense titles.

Sound
The sound in Anomaly is excellent, with the exception of the voice acting. Explosions, alien noises and the music all blend to provide a rich atmosphere, while the voice acting seems to be on a mission to detract from this. It is a mix of poorly written lines, not just a poorly chosen actor, and some of the dialogue seem to be obviously more suited to an American soldier. I've never really heard a more dicky British soldier in a game. The effort and goal of the voice acting is appreciated, it just pales in comparison to the rest of the game's sound department. It must be said, that the musical score in Anomaly is fantastic; mixing together a 'Command and Conquer’-style soundtrack with traditional Iranian music, 11 Bit have created a soundtrack that I would gladly listen to in my iPod, not just while fighting alien towers.

Keep It?

• Refreshing take on a worn out genre
• Simple controls make hectic combat a lot of fun
• Progressive story-based missions give levels meaning

Ditch It?

• Horrid voice acting
• Silly story and cutscenes

Anything Else?
I approached this game prepared (and almost wanting) to hate it. On the surface, Anomaly may seem like another played-out tower defense game. Thankfully, I was wrong. Anomaly is a fantastic game for fans of tower defense games as well as anyone looking something a little different. It looks and sounds great, and is well worth a download. Easily the best tower defense game on the Xbox Live Marketplace, even if it is more of a tower offense title.

Score: 8.5/10

Written by Nick Getley