So what is Orcs Must Die!? (hereafter referred to as Orcs or OMD) Orcs is an action strategy game by Robot Entertainment. It's in the third person and you set traps, cast spells, and use weapons to stop the massive mob of Orcs from getting to the Rift at the heart of your Castle. Robot Entertainment? Wha? Who? Robot Entertainment was founded in early 2009 by alumni of the then-recently-closed Ensemble Studios. Ensemble was behind the Age of Empires Franchise as well as Halo Wars. They just finished their work on Age of Empires Online for Microsoft and now working on their own game, OMD. What Platforms, Price? 1200 points on Xbox 360 Live Arcade 14.99 on PC on Steam There is a free demo on both Steam and Xbox Live Arcade When is OMD coming out? This shit's out! What's it look like? Excellent question, here are some screenshots: Trailer: So really, what's it like? It has elements of defense games, action games, and strategy games. You control the War Mage, an impulsive, young member of an organization dedicated to defending The Rifts from the invading orcs. He's the least powerful member of the The Order, and unfortunately after some recent events, the last. So it's up to him to save the world. At his disposal are over 20 defenses, and the very environment itself. You can shoot down chandeliers, tip over acid pots and trigger giant spiked rolling down stairs smashing all in their path. You have to use all of these to defeat Orcs and their allies over 20 different levels. It's got gibs, and lots of them. You are unkind to Orcs in general, and are given the tools to be even more so. It's pretty much required of you, given the title of the game. Any links on the internets about OMD? Sure, I just so happen to have a giant list: Press Announcements: http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1151755p1.html http://www.gamepro.com/forums/topic/5136431/robot-entertainment-announced-orcs-must-die/ http://www.destructoid.com/orcs-are-totally-f-ed-orcs-must-die-announced-194956.phtml http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/24/robots-orcs-must-die-lays-siege-to-consoles-pc-this-summer/ http://kotaku.com/#!5769335/age-of-empires-creators-declare-orcs-must-die Hands-On Articles from Community People: http://www.platformnation.com/2011/02/25/orcs-must-die-robot-entertainment-roundtable/ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/02/25/greenocide-hands-on-with-orcs-must-die/ http://dt9.destructoid.com/elephant/post.phtml?pk=194575 http://www.gamertagradio.com/new/?p=2624 http://www.xblafans.com/orcs-must-die-hands-on-preview-6877.html Where can I get more information about OMD? Check out The Official Website or The Developer Website But what if I want to read a review or five about it? No problem! IGN - 9/10 Gamespot - 8.2/10 Critic Review 7.8/10 User Review Gamepro - 4.5/5 Destructoid - 8.5/10 Deltagamer - 8/10 Joystiq - 4/5 Crave Online - 7/10 Splitkick - 9/10 RTS Guru - 9/10 G4 TV - 4/5 Metacritic - 9.2/10 Console Arcade 4/5 Gaming Union - 8/10 Inside Gaming Daily - 9/10 The Controller Online - 8/10 Developer Diary about the whole game
Its a fun game, but IMO Dungeon Defenders (which is pretty similar looking) will be better and it comes out in a few days. I am thinking the developers of this pushed the game out now so it would steal some sales from DD. I guess it depends what you are looking for. This one is a tiny bit more tower defense like because it has a little more "pathway" instead of a large room where you lay down traps. And Dungeon Defenders has a bit more RPGness to it while still having some tower defense elements. DD also is much more co-op oriented. So who is getting this and who is getting DD? I own both so I can play with either people. Also, trap design is terrible in those above screenshots
I have played dungeon defenders on the android for quite some time and already have it pre ordered for both my girlfriend and myself. We will likely be playing that more than this in the long run unless orcs must die puts in a multiplayer mode. Orcs must die is more of a min maxing game whereas dungeon defenders is more MMOish in your search for better items/xping. The two have different playstyles while staying inside the same category.