Tower defenses that are like Plants VS Zombies on Consoles /PC
If you have come here from the main article than you may want to skip the introduction and first two entries. I was lazy and copy and pasted, sorry.
This section is for those of you who want to take Plants Versus Zombies into the next generation or don’t own a mobile phone.
You could be mobile phone Amish or have the long standing believe the pocket sized processors attached to a touch screen device will be the genesis of sky-net – and nobody wants to lose two hours of their life to yet another Terminator sequel.
This section will look at those tower defense games that are just too much for a mobile too handle, and will bring Plants Versus Zombies to the big screen. So, if it is simplicity your looking, this section is most probably not for you. In this section, there are less games to recommend when compared to the over-saturated mobile market. A next generation power-house of a tower defense game might be exactly what we need to fulfill that thrill.
Aegis of Earth : Protonovus Assault
(PS-VITA-PS3- PS4 – Steam)
Aegis of Earth is a manga style tower defense game with a literal twist.
What it’s about:
You are defending a futuristic and perfectly circular city from an invasion of rampaging monsters. The city is compromised of interlocking circles, on which you can build weapons or resource generators. You can rotate these circles to aim your weapons at the charging monsters and protect the city from harm. It must play havoc with the road system. Could you imagine popping to the shop to pick up a pint of milk to discover your home has been rotated to the other end of the city?! It’s a classic B movie of a game, that is cheap but extremely good fun to play. In its own right as a PS4 title it is mediocre at best, judged as a tower defense game it is top-tier. Maybe one of the best.
The assaults on your city can get very fast paced, and frantic. They also require you to think fast, and develop on the fly strategies. As twists on the tower defense genre go this is a solid gold one. The rotating city provides some really good and unique game-play as you are constantly refocusing your line of fire and questioning the optimum placement of the guns. There is a rich development system you can sink points into, with loads of customization options. There are also elements of city management where you have to manage power requirements and the happiness of the population.
The game does start off a little slow due to anime-style story. On the plus side, it comes with the original Japanese voice acting, so you can switch from the annoying Nickelodeon style English actors if you wish to. There are a lot of characters for you to get to know.
If you are considering buying it on Steam, read the reviews first. There has been some issues around the control system caused by a bad port – although this issue maybe fixed now. Although a top tier defense games, it is more complex than Plants Versus Zombies and its game-play is very different.
Space Run Galaxy
(PC – Steam)
Space Run Galaxy is a tower defense game set in the deep void of space. Your spaceship is the area you have to defend by building towers on it. In Space Run Galaxy, the objective is to deliver cargo to from point A to point B without having the pirates steal your cargo. The main objective is how fast you can deliver your cargo, without the pirates stealing it. Each mission has set three speed goals to beat that give you an additional reward. You will have to re-visit levels to beat the top speed goal with higher level equipment.
What it’s about:
Your ship is comprised of hexagons on which you can put different towers such as shields, thrusters, guns and the cargo that you are delivering. And as such it soon become extremely tactical where you are juggling defensive and offensive capabilities against the profitability of the mission. There are three main things to juggle, speed to meets the levels time targets, guns to deter the pirates and cargo amount to keep your business contacts happy. The ship has a wide range of customization, you can paint it, place more hexagon on it and by doing so redesign its shape.
The real fun thing about this game is that it has a crafting system for the towers. The crafting system is really deep in this game and allows you to build more hexagons or craft better towers. So, the more mission that you complete and the greater amount of material you gather the greater amount of towers you can build or upgrade.
It is a great and fun game. Even though it is a great defense game, with a nice story it plays nothing like Plants Versus Zombies.
Infinium strike
(Xbox One – PS4 – MAC- PC -Steam)
Infinium Strike is a deep space science fiction tower defense game that has real time strategy elements. It is similar to Aegis of Earth due to the fact that you are centered in the middle of the map and assaults can come from all 360 surrounding your ship. This game takes this to the next level though and it can produce some very tough, tactical battles.
What it’s about:
You are a gunnery officer on mankind’s last best hope for annihilating a mysterious corpse stealing aliens that are named the Wrog. (If only there was an n in there… How cool would be to have an alien race called the Wrong?)
Your ship is made from infinium a living metal and goes off to destroy the enemy…
It is a mission based campaign and it has all the hall marks of a traditional tower defense game, customization, upgrades, different abilities and a range of difficulties to play through.
The graphics are above average for a tower defense game, and the music fits the game extremely well.
The campaign is a little on the short side and will last a player a weekend or two.
It is a great tower defense game and fans of the genre will most probably find it extremely satisfying, but it isn’t a mind-blowing game that will be enjoyed by everyone.
Toy Soldiers and Toy Soldiers: War Chest
(Xbox One – Steam)
The Toy Soldiers series of tower Defense games are one of the most beautiful graphics wise. It is also one of the most novel and funny games. In this aspect, it may be the closest to Plants Versus Zombies, just because it has the surreal and funny craziness factor. There is an action element to this game, and you can control turrets.
What it’s about:
The first in the series was just based on green army and the kind of plastic soldiers you would play with as a child. It was a great idea that expanded into some of the greatest and most novel tower defense game-play. There are lots of DLC expansion which extend game play, like The Cold War expansion. The co-op in this game is absolutely amazing.
War Chest goes one step further and lets you play as some of your favorite toys franchises such as He-man, Gi-Joe, Cobra and Assassins Creed. Who wouldn’t want a He-man Tower Defense? There are even care bear clones running around. It’s just awesome. The downside is that some of the content is locked behind DLC. Personally, it was well worth the extra cash.
Its a fun and awesome game.
Deathtrap
(Steam – PC)
Deathtrap is another tower defense game with a slight difference. It borrows elements of an action-RPG too. This infusion gives it a unique blend of strategy and action.
In a lot of them like I, Zombie and Zombie Office Politics you can also play as a zombie.
What it’s about:
The game takes place in a strong hold that exists between this world and a world of monsters and horrors. You are tasked with defending the strong from an invading army of monsters to prevent them gaining entry into our world.
The towers are either traps and spells you place on the map which help destroy the invading army. There are loads of challenges hidden on the map to, you can meet neutral creatures which will give you powerful weaponry. There are also quests hidden throughout the levels. There is a lot of content to discover.
There is huge customization with over 150 trap upgrades, and three classes to play as.
Deathrap is a little darker than most of the other games on this list and may not be as child friendly, due to the blood and horror element.
Orcs Must Die 2 (Steam) is a game with a very similar set up and play style.
Conclusion
That covers most of the top PC and Console entries in the world of tower defense. There are other entries – Steam is full of indie entries in the genre and if you love tower defense I would highly recommend you looking through its catalog. With its regular sales indie titles rarely cost more than the spare change in your pocket. Other note-able entries you could take a look at are:-
- Defense Grid Two (PC – Steam)
- Dungeon Defenders Two (Pc – Steam)
