The Daily Click

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Author:	Marko
Added:	13/10/2008
Overall:
Average:	7/10

This game is a strange beast. It is pretty retro in design - the game involves the player defending a power relay at the base of the screen as wave after wave of enemies appear from the top - and dare i say basic too. That is, initially it feels basic. For you see there is a fair bit of depth and strategy to this bad-boy!

One thing that is exceptionally thoughtful (and one of those 'why didn't i think of that?' ideas) is the seperate application explaining the game. This is a small but smart touch designed to show the player exactly what is going on. My opinion of this; brilliant!

As for the DOS-esque feel Base Defender wraps around you as you boot it up, i am all the more happier for seeing it. The simple main menu and introduction screen does nothing but add to this game's charm and charisma.

The game plays like a cross between Break-out and Command & Conquer. The basic gameplay premise is juiced up by the good looking 2D graphics. The gun turrets look fab and the bullets have a nice understated effect. Enemies come thicker and faster as the game moves from wave to wave; the basic drones mujstering feelings of Starship Troopers; thousands of bugs hunting you down until extinction. Upon playing the more difficult of the 3 difficulties it becomes much more obvious that strategy is important. Without looking after your defending gun turrets you will not make half way through the 30 waves being thrown at you. This is more a thinking man's game than an action man's one, and it is all the more better for it. On a disappointing note, some users may find slow-down with significant gun-fire on screen at once. Unfortunately this also makes the game easier whilst removing some of the urgency the game relies upon.

The sprites make the game stand out; they make the game feel like one of the quality DOS games we all grew up with and played to death on our Pentium 166's. Along with the detailed allied and enemy designs, Base Defender impresses with its nice camera shakes as enemies plow into gun turrets. The grey undertones of the machinery on screen is brought to life with bright greens, blues and the purple hue of the backdrop. Visually it does all it can to make such a monotonous concept stand out from the blackness of space. And it has succeeded!

Another highlight is the sound. Explosions rock, machine gun fire feels chunky and the music is of such a high calibre you would think a professional had composed it. More of this music would have been nicer and would have added more variety, yet for a game made in such a short space of time this does nothing but impress more.

With 30 waves and a 'Hard' difficulty setting that lives up to it's name, there is plenty here to keep gamers going. My only gripe would be that the arcade-style gameplay may wear thin eventually. However, the amount of entertainment this game does offer redeems it considerably.

Eternal Entertainment have done a marvelous job in making this game as good as it can be. Download now and give it a whirl - you'll be pleased you did!