Review
Normally I’d start off this review with some clever question remarking on how good Dungeon Defenders might be; however there’s really no need. Dungeon Defenders is perhaps the best PSN title available, especially for those yearning for a fun and unique title, with nearly endless value. Yeah, it’s that good.
Dungeon Defenders is a RPG/Tower Defense hybrid, with a particularly huge emphasis on the role-playing side. Players will gain experience towards leveling up a character, which can be used for increasing stats. Dungeon Defenders takes a more traditional point-of-view when it comes to leveling up. Instead of skill trees with only one or two useful abilities, Dungeon Defenders forces you to put points into stats. It might sound a little too simplistic; however it’s anything but that. In a way this allows players a little bit more freedom when it comes to creating a build specific to their play style.
You Shall Not Pass
For instance, while my Squire doesn’t exactly do as much damage as it could, the power of my towers more than makes up for it. This was evident when I accidentally got thrown into a PVP match with a group of cooperative partners. Everyone was a bit confused on what exactly to do, so I went ahead and created a ton of different melee based towers in strategic spots. Nothing was more satisfying than watching my opponents run straight into my towers and getting killed instantly. In this case my fun was short-lived, because tons of A.I enemies randomly spawn to keep things interesting. Despite that pretty much costing me the match, I actually enjoyed the addition of A.I opponents. It keeps the battles dynamic and strategy (the backbone of Dungeon Defenders) more relevant in comparison to other takes on PVP.
What are you doing? You're the Squire, CHARGEEEEEE!!!!!
Even with most of the game being firmly rooted in RPG mechanics, the tower defense mechanics are expertly implemented. Dungeon Defenders uses a system not so much different from the upcoming title Starhawk. With enough mana and structure points, players are able to place different towers all over the map; usually in any spot they desire. Placing your defenses strategically is absolutely critical to success, especially on higher difficulty levels. Each of the four characters has a unique set of structures built for their play style. It will be up for players to decide which of the characters to pick, however they all offer fresh perspective, and abilities useful for deflecting the swarms of enemies hell-bent on destroying the Eternia Crystals. The level design is fantastic. It isn’t overly complicated, and never compromises the challenge fans of the genre have come to expect.
What this is only wave 7? O_O
Dungeon Defenders as a whole is filled with tons of personality. Despite relying heavily on traditional fantasy for enemy types and environments, players will without a doubt get sucked into the universe Dungeon Defenders has to offer. Perhaps it’s the unique flair of the art style or the immersive sound design that makes this title come together like so many retail titles fail to do. There’s just so many elements working together positively to make a complete experience.
As I stated before there’s a PVP mode along with a 4-player cooperative mode. This allows you to tackle the campaign and challenges with a group of friends. There’s a ton of customization available and friends or other players can mess around in the host’s Tavern while he tweaks the match to fit the party’s needs. Trendy Entertainment isn’t exactly a big name so there was some initial skepticism regarding how well the online would run. To my surprise the game runs remarkable well. It’s actually quite embarrassing for other developers who still struggle with the PS3’s architecture, because frankly Trendy Entertainment makes them look like complete novices. The frame-rate barely dips when there are hundreds of enemies on screen and there was absolutely zero lag. That’s impressive, and sadly a rarity in the industry these days.
Where's a tower when you need one?
There are some hiccups though to a mostly stellar experience. First off, the menus at times are just far too busy for the user’s best interest. Its apparent Trendy tried to jam as much information as they possibly could in the menus, and as a result sometimes it can be hard to see certain stats and navigate. On the flip side they do offer a thumbs-up or thumbs-down symbol that immediately tells you whether the items are useful or not. Despite that, the nature of the game encourages users to investigate and play with stat combinations, so it would have been nice to see a more intuitive interface. There’s also not much customization when it comes to editing your characters appearance. With so many unique weapons it was strange not to see the same being done with the armor. These issues however are blemishes on an already fantastic title.
Trendy Entertainment has crafted one of the most addictive, fun, and best PSN titles available today. This title offers tons of content at a affordable price, and shouldn’t be missed by any fans of either genre.
For more information on how we review games check out our criteria here. A copy of this game was provided to The Paranoid Gamer by the publisher for review purposes.
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