Although it was first announced in February, Robot Entertainment’s upcoming title Orcs Must Die! has only just caught my attention, due to the regular videos on their YouTube channel showcasing each weapon.
Founded by developers from Ensemble Studios, the people behind Halo Wars and the classic Age of Empires franchise, this is their first original game as Robot Entertainment, and it looks awesome.
Orcs Must Die! is being called a tower defense/strategy/action game. From the looks of it, players are placed in charge of defending a fortress from relentless waves of orcs, setting traps, using environmental elements and weapons to find the most creative and effective ways to stop the horde.
Instead of the common top-down view associated with tower defense games, and the power to place objects anywhere you can see onscreen, control is tied to a character viewed from an over-shoulder third-person perspective, and players must run around the fortress placing traps, triggering events and if necessary, directly attacking the invaders.
Gameplay will essentially involve players setting up traps like arrow walls, elven archers, spike floors, and swinging blades before the horde arrives. Once the horde enters the castle, players must run around and maintain these traps, sit in strategic locations to drop chandeliers onto them or ignite boom barrels, and use your crossbow to take out those who survive.
The gameplay looks fun, the visual style looks somewhat cartoony, and the game as a whole gives off a light-hearted, funny vibe. Definitely one to keep an eye on. Orcs Must Die is due as a digital download for PC and consoles sometime in “Summer” –i.e., June/July/August, for those of us down south.
Check out the gameplay trailer below, and keep an eye on the official site for updates, and the comical descriptions of the game elements.
