The original Orcs Must Die! game turned out to be a lot of fun. The action never dulled, the music was beyond epic proportions, and the headshots were oh so satisfying. It was a no-brainer when I saw Orcs Must Die! 2…I just had to see what else could possibly make the original game that much more appealing to play.
Orcs Must Die! 2 (PC)
For those of you who have never played Orcs Must Die!, it is a tower defense game that allows the player to freely roam the environment. You’ll be allowed to pre-pick what traps and weapons you’d like to use before the waves of enemies start coming, place said traps, and then take an active role in stopping them yourself.
You’ll also be presented with a familiar looking, cartoonish storyline.
Orcs Must Die! 2 keeps with the general theme. The player will be allowed to pick between two characters (a male war mage or a female sorceress) and will immediately begin their trek from level to level, unlocking new traps and earning skulls to purchase upgrades. The spellbook is a lot more impressive, providing the player with more traps and upgrade options. There’s also a page for trinkets that give both passive and active effects…a welcome addition in my opinion.
The spellbook is a lot more streamlined, with tabs and all.
Besides the new traps and the new upgrade options, players will be able to kick it old school with classic maps from Orcs Must Die!, assuming that they own the first one. Co-op makes an appearance, allowing two players to slaughter Orc by the thousands. Endless mode rounds out the new additions, allowing players to go it solo or team up in a “survival mode” setting.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t score a perfect five skulls on a level…you can always come back to it, with better unlocks and weapons.
I admit that I was able to jump into Orcs Must Die! 2 with ease…the keybinds and overall feel stayed relatively the same. The music stood out right away and I immediately turned up the volume to my headset. I’m not sure why it appeals to me so much, but it gets my adrenaline pumping. I also noticed the addition of moving mine carts on railroad tracks, discovering that the Orcs really didn’t fare well when the cart barreled into them. This added a bit of strategic value to the map, giving me something else to think about as I planned my traps and shots. The crossbow’s special, for example, stuns enemies in place for a short time…it would really suck for them to be stunned on a railroad track, wouldn’t it?
Steeeee-RIKE!
I also noticed that I didn’t have my traditional crossbow from the first one…though it is unlockable. I was instead given a shotgun that turned out to be pretty powerful. Its secondary fires a grenade that sends Orcs flying…I found it oddly satisfying and really didn’t want to switch it out with something else.
Nothing says hello to an Orc like a shotgun to the face.
In between rounds, I was surprised to see a “respec” option, allowing you to reset all of your purchases and unlockable items and get all of your skulls back. I honestly can’t praise this feature enough. I found that I often had to because some of the new enemies I came across were weaker to some attacks and traps than others. The Earth Elemental monster can take hits like a champ, but headshots from a crossbow drained its health quickly.
“One for you…and one for you…”
All in all, Orcs Must Die! 2 is a great game that I’ve had a lot of fun with so far. I look forward to unlocking more of its content, all the while listening to the game’s soundtrack. If you liked Orcs Must Die! or just enjoy a good tower defense game, then give this game your attention.
Final Verdict: 8/10
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You can check out play sessions for this game here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ICVbmwXdY8
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