[internisus]

You guys should all buy this game. It's really charming and fun. I've seen some of you playing it already, but a little more exposure can't hurt, I figure.

I wish I knew more about the Bloom & Gloom company upon which my survival depends.

If anyone has trouble, here's some advice from the zombies: "When the zombies show up, don't do anything. You win the game when the zombies get to your houze." So, as you can imagine, it's a pretty easy game. I haven't won yet, though. =(

[Marshmallow]

I don't know, a Tower Defence game has to be something REALLY special to make me care about it. I'm so done with them.

[Infernarl]

But in this one, the enemies only come from the right and only move in straight lines!

[Talbain]

Awesome music video, regardless.
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[CubaLibre]

I feel like I should plug Immortal Defense.
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Let's Play, starring me.

[Touran]

I did give the trial a go, and it was enjoyable.
There were some interesting formula changes in the day/night cycle, and mechanically this is just as addictive as any TDF game I've played.

However, the price point from popcap at $19 is a huge turn-off. I had fun, but in the end this is still just a TDF, and a basic one at that.

I can't bring myself to spend more than $10 on it.
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Man, I'm sorry.

[Swick]

[wourme]

[internisus]

Yeah, I just picked up Defense Grid as well, and I like it immediately for its polish if nothing else.

I just discovered a great reward for completing this very, very unhealthy and long week of work: Plants vs. Zombies has achievements now.

Random: If anyone was waiting for this like I was, King's Bounty has been updated to 1.7 (latest version) on Steam. It's currently $27. Also, Mirror's Edge is now available for $20. Someone who knows a DICE dude says that the DLC map pack won't likely be coming to Steam ever for reasons I don't understand that involve limited manpower, but other someones have figured out how to pull the content from the downloadable non-steam install file so that you can use the maps like custom level editor content.

[rabite gets whacked!]

I'm totally addicted. This is like the offspring of Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Super Princess Peach.
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[Lick Meth]

That "music video" put me off the game forever. Everyone involved in the creation of such a terrible song should be shot (and everyone who liked it).

[skelethulu]

[shnozlak]

Im just tired of zombies
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Mixtapes galore ~ VG MUSIC
ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ http://phantom-photon.tumblr.com/

[km]

[CubaLibre]

Are there mayhaps also ninjas.
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Let's Play, starring me.

[km]

I'm not sure.

There are homicidal plants and hordes of peasants to send to their deaths
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vi) RPGs (Role-Playing Games)
For adolescents; half-formed personalities roaming (in packs) in search of identity.

[CubaLibre]

But I can send these peasants to their deaths instead.



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Let's Play, starring me.

[dessgeega]

yeah, zombies and tower defense games are both boring, but the idea of making the heroes plants and the villains zombies seems like a clever design explanation to why the enemies move so slowly and your forces are rooted in place.
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[dessgeega]

[HarveyQ]

I guess you can shoot me, then!

I like that one of the zombies is apparently a dolphin (?!)
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ghosts appear and fade away

[rabite gets whacked!]

The zombie dolphin also has a zombie in a wetsuit riding it.

My favorite zombie is the one that does the Thriller dance and spawns backup dancers though.
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[Dark Age Iron Savior]

[Broco]

[Tlon]

massed groups of pixel art critters make me really happy. like that Japanese game where you kicked things. but tower defense games bore me
what should i do?
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Someday somethings coming
From way out beyond the stars
To kill us while we stand here
It will store our brains in mason jars

[Rya.Reisender]

I made a thread about King's Bounty a while ago you might want to search for it.

Anyways, King's Bounty is a pretty awesome game. I still like the Genesis version more than the PC version, though. The Genesis version was just much more fast-paced and arcade-like. The PC version is more like an RPG with a very good strategy-RPG battle system. Awesome game nonetheless.

[108]

[Dark Age Iron Savior]

[108]

[Dark Age Iron Savior]

[wourme]

I decided to get this because it's on sale, and I like it more than I thought I would. The constant addition of new plant types and game modes and things keeps it interesting.

Playing this probably isn't the best use of time, but I can't really fault it for that, since the same is true of some of the other games (and other things) that I spend my time with when I should be trying to do something more productive or meaningful.

[Marshmallow]

turrets are rooted in place in most RTS games just fyi

i cant think of any where they're not, actually. i dont play RTS games much though

[demand]

[Marshmallow]

[niitaka]

I've been playing this a lot, and I'd say that it gets more and more compelling as it introduces new environmental elements: night, fog, and so on.

It definitely drags out its levels, though. Every 10 levels it changes an element, and while each one shifts the gameplay so that you build up your defenses differently, you are definitely bored by the time you reach the next switch.

Also, some changes serve as excuses to force you to use specific plants.
For example, about halfway through the game they add in fog, which you HAVE to use lamps to burn off, and that's the only function the lamps serve. The thing is, before this you already had things like tree stumps on fire, which could've just as easily served an extra function as anti-fog, hell, even the sunflowers should've done that - which actually would've shaken up the gameplay, normally you'd hide the sunflowers in the back rows to protect them, but now you're forced to place some in the front line where they are in the most danger.

Later on, there are balloon enemies that have to be blown away by fans, etc.

A lot of it's just lazy design, it could've been tightened up and given existing plant types more depth and nuance rather than introducing extraneous ones.

The variations and little mini-games are genuinely compelling, though, there are levels where you have to roll exploding nuts, night levels where you get drastically different types of plants that change your strategy, and so on. The last 10 levels take place on a sloping roof, and your basic weapons shoot straight so you have to rely on a different subset of plants, or levels where the zombies can block off parts of the yard so you can't plant anything there, making it harder and harder to defend.

Also!
There is one darkness level near the end that really got me scared and panicky - the entire screen goes pitch black, and only lights up for half a second after a long 5 seconds - each zombie makes a unique sound so you KNOW when there's a huge threat and you don't know where it is and you're scrambling to place your defenses - it was an excellent level, but it's too bad that for every one of those levels there are 5 boring ones.

[another god]

[Talbain]

[another god]

Well, if you're really smart you look at Blizzard like you look at Capcom. While they may have a list of games that goes something along the lines of Warcraft, Warcraft II, Diablo, Starcraft, Diablo II, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft it really goes like this: RTS 1 and 2, Hack & Slash, RTS 3, Hack & Slash Returns, RTS 4, Hack & Slash Super. These are games that are not made over and over, but each game itself is played over and over. Once you "figure it out" playing a game of Diablo isn't any different than playing slots. It's just reward after reward after reward.

What I am saying about Blizzard's games, which is all the more apparent playing the games that are *not Blizzard's games*, is that there's a ruleset deeply rooted in Blizzard. It's as deeply ingrained in me as Fire beating Shiva in Final Fantasy games. Except it's deeper.

That along with the Blizzard toolsets that let you dig deeper into the game mechanics and really understand things... well, that just feels good. You know exactly what everything does, and you want to set it up in such a way that you get those things. Play another RTS, MMO, or Hack & Slash and tell me that their rulesets are as easily understandable as Blizzards' are. Any problem you might have with Blizzard's saminess is forgiven ten fold by the sheer accessability.

But this is way off topic.

Tower defense games started as a subset of Warcraft III. I played a ton of them, even when they weren't tower defense games (please see a history of Starcraft mods for that). There's a "type" of unit in TD games that you use, and that's the stationary, auto-aiming gun.
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interdimensional

[BIGJ420COOLDUDE]

hey check out hwat happens when you play tower defense during a normal 3v3 of war3

http://www.highper.ch/aoh/index.php

[another god]

Somethingawful goons love perching.
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interdimensional

[Talbain]

I thought Tower Defense was more a subset of Starcraft but... I dunno, I don't really peruse that kind of stuff. Ultimately it's probably older than Blizzard, but Blizzard, as you say, made it accessible. I merely question the accessibility argument for the sake of how elegant their games actually are as a result of it. In my mind I see something closer to: Diablo - Diablo Simpler - Diablo Simplest. They've really taken it to a point where I think it's less about that elegance and more about getting you to play their games. Their RTSes aren't bad, they just seem shallow to me after a point because there tends to be one easy strategy that will win most encounters, particularly when it comes to fighting the AI (which I probably shouldn't even be talking about, since I would guess it's not about the AI and I'm missing something).

I find Tower Defense games fun because they're both simple yet challenging. Blizzard games tend to just be simple, seemingly depending on their user base to make them challenging.
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[BIGJ420COOLDUDE]

apparently they lost a lot of history when their old site went down but they had games that literally went on for over 8 hours