Sanctum 2 (Hands-On) (PC) Preview

These last several years have seen something new in the tower defence genre, though. Like peanut butter and chocolate, someone went and had the bright idea of spilling a truckload of action all over said mazes. After all, building a deadly dungeon of doom is only great fun until having to watch helplessly as a horde of monsters waltzes straight through it to the goal and then --- *boom* -- game over.

That's where Sanctum 2 steps in. Another in a growing line of action tower defence, Sanctum 2 differs itself by mixing its tower building with first-person shooting. There's also some really nice graphics and music, too, and Cubed3 was lucky enough to get chance to try out a special preview version on PC.

Sanctum was already a nice looking game. Its sprawling sky cities with pulsing orbs, nice looking water effects, and exotic foliage were fun to spend time in. The colour schemes were very Mass Effect; clean, bright, and visually striking without being gaudy.

Sanctum 2 has taken that to a new level. The development team has obviously spent a lot of time ratcheting everything up to the next level. Visually, the game doesn't disappoint, with quality textures, nice object and model geometry, interesting tower models, and better enemy models. Sanctum 2 might not be a big budget game the likes of Halo, but it is fun to look at.

Other parts of the presentation have received just as much attention. The music is a nice hypnotic techno - not too heavy, not too soft - appropriate for the pace and setting. The interface is possibly the biggest improvement, though, with jagged text on bland backdrops being replaced with more professional looking interface elements. It's all nicely done.

That's the sort of thing expected from a proper sequel, though. What isn't expected, however, are drastic changes in gameplay - especially from a rookie developer like Coffee Stain Studios. In most people's minds, a group of university students are more likely to lightly refine and expand their product, aiming for more success the second go 'round. Instead, Coffee Stain went and shook things up considerably. Gone are the unreachable towers from which players could shoot in safety; gone are the ten-foot high bricks; gone are the huge levels with 30 waves of enemies; gone are the teleport tiles.

It is action, and a lot more of it. In are four different characters with different primary weapons (machine gun, rocket launcher, sniper, shotgun). Also in is a ten-tower limit with three levels of upgrading per tower, plus "overcharging." In are three-foot bricks that can easily be jumped over. Plus, in are bosses that will rip up carefully designed mazes apart like mere paper. Oh, and the enemies attack back now.

These changes mean the game isn't just Sanctum, again. Sanctum 2 is its own game - one that has increased its demands on the player's skill and decreased the value of the maze and towers. Is it everything Sanctum players wanted, though? That's tough to say. What Cubed3 can say, however, is that it's fun in its own right; challenging, stressful, and rewarding.