Can you imagine a first-person tower defense? It’s Sanctum 2 for the Xbox 360 and spoiler alert. Sanctum 2 is a sequel. The original was released in 2011, so the whole "first-person tower defense" thing isn't as new as it once was. But it's still pretty great. The thing is Sanctum isn't just tower defense from a first-person perspective. There’s a lot of FPS involved here, so in addition to the mixture itself, it's the balance of that mixture that makes Sanctum so interesting. So you start by choosing a character. This is the first big change from the original, as Sanctum 2 has four characters to choose from. There's a soldier, a sniper, a grenadier and your obligatory shotgun guy. Each one has their own unique weapons and traits, and finding the character who matches your own play style is the key.
It really adds another level of depth to the Sanctum formula. Once you've picked your character, you customize your load out. Pick your weapons, choose which towers to use then, it's time to defend. And things play out as they would in any tower defense game. You have individual waves of enemies trying to reach your core, which you have to protect. After each wave, you get to build towers with your available resources. If your core survives all the waves, you move on. Of course, the key difference with Sanctum 2 is that, where a lot of tower defense games just give you a top-down look of the levels, this one puts you right inside them. And to clear the enemies, you don't just rely on your towers. You also have to kick a little ass yourself. And it really adds a whole 'another element to tower defense because you're not just a commander anymore. Now, you're down in the trenches. So if your tower strategy fails, you have the chance to make up for it with your trigger finger. And of course, the catch is it's, like, one on fifty. Fortunately, the game plays well as a shooter, too. But you can't just blast your way to victory. In fact, Sanctum 2 makes sure you can't. Your ammunition doesn't last long, so there's a lot of reloading involved...and it freaking takes forever.
Obviously, that leaves you vulnerable, so you really do have to find a balance between an effective tower layout that does most of the damage, and finishing them off with your guns. So the design is really smart, the gameplay is fun but Sanctum 2 also offers some interesting customization and leveling up. There are plenty of towers and weapons to choose from, as well as perks you can apply to your character. So one might give your weapon extra damage, but it also removes enemy weak points. That's the great thing about Sanctum 2. Every advantage is balanced with a disadvantage. You can play it by yourself, but obviously, this game is just incredible with friends. Sanctum 2 offers four-player multiplayer, which I think is the best. But even going solo, it's a lot of fun to play, and it's really challenging. So yeah, you might be burned out on shooters and tower defense, but combine them and that changes everything. Sanctum 2 is, like, the Combos of
Xbox video games.
