[PAX2011]Orcs Must Die! Preview

[Ghostbear]

wVh808H_PIQ

Having seen a bunch of upcoming titles at E3, I spent a lot of my time looking around at PAX for games that I missed earlier this year. There were some great surprises, Robot Entertainment's (http://robotentertainment.com/) Orcs Must Die! was one of them. Describing the game is a bit tricky, it is an action-y, strategy-y, sort of tower defense-y game. You control a hero who can place traps of various shapes and sizes around your dungeon to protect the portal at the end. The orcs are made of of waves of different creatures, some are mindless brutes charging at you with axe in hand. Some are ranged, or can fly. You have to learn to plan for all the creature types.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6198/6100630871_d1eec88ef8_z.jpg

Whenever you start a round you'll have as much time as you need to setup your initial trap layout. You have limited funds however, which are replenished by killing orcs. Once you are ready, you can unleash the hordes and prepare to defend your portal. You'll also have breaks periodically where you can set your dungeon up again to deal the with progessively tougher waves of creatures. If you don't like the placement, you can sell them back to get a refund. In addition to traps, you can also fight with a crossbow and sword, to really get in there and deal out some orc carnage.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/6101174802_7c9f9cec9a_z.jpg

Sadly, the game is single player, but I have to say that I barely noticed, since I kept coming back to the booth to play some more. The game will be available on PC and XBL. Look for it to cost around $15 and it should be out soon. Now, where did I put that boiling tar trap?

[Ink Asylum]

I've been waiting for this since playing it at PAX East. Disappointed that there isn't co-op or a level editor, but hopefully it'll sell well enough to get a sequel or update with one or both of those features.

[Squidbot]

This one has been on my radar for a while, someone posted it on CoG. I'm glad to hear it's shaping up well.
And thanks for adding another to the list, GB ;[

[Ghostbear]

This one has been on my radar for a while, someone posted it on CoG. I'm glad to hear it's shaping up well.
And thanks for adding another to the list, GB ;[

I would be remiss if I didn't try to cajole you out of all your money.

[OUX]

Sanctum with orcs? Sold.

[Ink Asylum]

Sanctum with orcs? Sold.

Having played both, while I certainly enjoyed Sanctum, OMD! is much more satisfying because of how cartoonishly violent the traps are. It's quite clear when they're working, as Orc bodies go flying around hilariously. In Sanctum it's harder to tell if your gauntlet is effective until it's too late.

Also, directly engaging the Orcs is more fun, too, as your weapons, sword/bow/magic, also have a more obvious effect on the enemies.

[OUX]

I didn't mean to imply they are the same game. OMD! looks like it has a much more visceral feel to it and I think that is awesome. I am excited about it, and the way this genre is progressing as a whole. I love tower defense games and the element of first or third person action and being able to take part in the fight is fantastic.

[Ink Asylum]

There's nothing wrong with implying they're similar, because they absolutely are. I was just expanding on what you were saying. If you liked Sanctum you'll love OMD!

[Wolvie]

This kinda reminds of that old PS1 game where you set up traps to kill the good guy. AHHH! I can't think of the name! It is killing me! Lil help?

[Blue]

Deception.

[PathMaster]

Hmm, a little Dungeon Keeper mixed with some Tower Defense, throw in a little First person mayhem.. Sign me up, especially for $15!

[TheFlyingOrc]

Bunch of racists, all of you. :mad:

[Ink Asylum]

Hey. If you don't want a negative stereotype, tell all those green-skins to stop breaking into our castles.

[Spectre-7]

Hey. If you don't want a negative stereotype, tell all those green-skins to stop breaking into our castles.

It's not the orcs' fault, man. You humans have all the good jobs inside your castles, while there just isn't any work outside except for punching rocks. The average orc is so destitute he's forced to eat dirt for dinner. Have you ever eaten dirt? I'm not talking any of that fancy French dirt people buy at organic markets either, but just normal, run-of-the-mill, gritty, sandy, manure-y, dirty dirt. Blech.

[Ink Asylum]

If they would just pull themselves up by their bootstraps (do orcs wear boots?) they could succeed. No one gave me a handout. I built this castle up from nothing. When I got here all there was was swamp.

[Spectre-7]

Oh, it's just like you myopic castle owners to completely ignore the global economy. Where exactly do you think the stones to build your beautiful castle came from? Certainly not from the swamp, my friend. No, those finely shaped stones are the product of traditional orcish rock-punching, imported at bargain-basement prices that are only possible because of the virtual slave-labor conditions the orc population is forced to live in.

...and no, they don't have boots anymore. They chopped 'em up and ate them with their dirt stew just to make it through the Winter.

[Ink Asylum]

Those foreign orcs deserve jobs, too, and the dead rats they're paid with are much more than most of their fellow countryorcs earn. If it weren't for job-killing minimum wage decrees I could afford to hire local orcs to punch domestic rocks.

Besides, I have many friends who are orcs.

[Spectre-7]

Uh, I believe you meant to say that you have many friends who are house orcs. Ya know, PHIGS (Puny Humans In Green Skins)... the kind you let eat at your table every now and again because they walk and talk like humans, and when they head off to sleep in the stables at the end of the night, you and your human cronies marvel at how clean and well-spoken they are. How terribly progressive of you.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Besides, I have many friends who are orcs.
I knew you had ulterior motives.

[Ink Asylum]

Uh, I believe you meant to say that you have many friends who are house orcs. Ya know, PHIGS (Puny Humans In Green Skins)... the kind you let eat at your table every now and again because they walk and talk like humans, and when they head off to sleep in the stables at the end of the night, you and your human cronies marvel at how clean and well-spoken they are. How terribly progressive of you.

I won't stand idly by and listen to you talk about my good friends that way. Here's a picture of me with one of them.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2376971/Forum%20Images/ColbertThrall.jpg

[shodan2020]

This kinda reminds of that old PS1 game where you set up traps to kill the good guy. AHHH! I can't think of the name! It is killing me! Lil help?

I think you are referring to Tecmo's Deception series. Or Bullfrog's Dungeon Keeper series, but I don't think Dungeon Keeper was released on anything besides the PC.

[Spigot]

I'm a huge Deception fan so this is totally on my radar. Woo!

[Ghostbear]

Man, rise from your grave thread.