Unlike many other tower defense games in which you purchase and place towers, in Orcs Must Die places you right in the mix of battle. Towers, or in this case, traps and snares, are used with other weapons and equipment to engage enemies. You play an apprentice war mage who finds himself in a sticky situation when your master falls in combat. With your master gone, you are now expected to defend the a gateways that lead rest of the world from an onslaught of Orcs.
Getting the hang of the controls came very smooth and quick. The game does a great job of making it a gamer-friendly game by simplifying controls. Whether it is scrolling in between traps or upgrading weaponry, its very easy to pick up and play immediately.With that being said, tower defense games require strategy and also can be played very differently, Orcs Must Die is no different. There are a variety of different fortresses and maps that keep you looking for better ways to taper off your orc infestation. Not only can you devise different routes in which to engage the orcs, but the game does offer a pretty large choice of traps to kill orcs with. Some of the traps are your usual traps in tower defense games such as a tar pit to slow down enemies, but many of the traps take an intriguing and comical approach of taking down orcs like spring traps that launch them across the room.
The integration of a third-person shooter along with the tower defense makes Orcs Must Die enjoyable. When some orcs would slip through my traps, I’d have to chase them down to deal with them which makes game play that, more exciting. Although the main character makes the same comments over the course of the game, I still get a chuckle out of them. The unlocking of traps and other weapons to use definitely keeps you wanting to play the game to figure out the best way to setup traps and get a high score on the leader boards. There is a large variety of enemies in which you face so you always have to keep changing your strategies which keeps it a fun game.
One thing I had a problem with was the AI. Sometimes I would block off an area in order to funnel the orcs in, and they would glitch and just keep running back to my barricade and just stand frozen in it’s tracks between runs. It didn’t happen all the time but just a small hang up in the game since you’d wait at the gate expecting to see some one show up sooner or later. Overall I enjoyed the game, it revived my love for tower defense games and I can’t wait to play it again!
