Let's go you [EXPLETIVE].
The Trashfall is over, but there's more trash games to deal with.
EntwicklerX is back, and this time is M.A.C.E. Tower Defense.
It's the Alien Parade! STOP THEM!!
You might remember M.A.C.E. as the crappy space shooter that I've talked before. Well, it's back. Not as a shmup, but as a Tower Defense game creatively called M.A.C.E. Tower Defense.
For a game called "Tower Defense" there's not too much of that concept since there's no tower to defend. The idea is to prevent the enemy from leaving the screen after folling a specific path. That means one thing: Creating a "Via Dolorosa" for the enemy by placing cannons, blockades and devices to slow their speed. One thing you have to learn is that each weapon has its own strength. But also their own weaknesses like the fire rate and even the range which implies how far can intercept their target. This is crucial when you install an Artillery 'cos they have a blind spot when the enemy gets too close to them. You can level up any installed turret to give them more power and slightly increase their firing range. This really helps with the Rocket turret.
Correct placement is a vital role in most of the game because there's sections where they take a curve or go full circle and this is where they can take constant damages, the right weapon will do the best damages and will save lives. If an enemy sneaks away it will take 1 of your 10 lives which are the "Tower" of the game. Lose them all and the mission fails. But you have a last chance alternative. Three Special Attacks that will clear the path and destroy that "funny guy" that made it through your defenses: Nukes and Missile Strikes are the last chance. But you can't spend all of them, every 10th wave you'll face a boss followed by small enemies which will surely distract your defenses. After that, the following waves will increase the damage tolerance of the enemy, forcing you to level up your towers and build more effective ones. Also, the game becomes repetitive almost immediately at the point you will prefer to quit the game once and for all despite having the option of increasing the game's speed to accelerate things and end the stage faster.
Have a few weeks to spare?
For a Tower Defense campaign, this game goes to an outrageous number of stages. Remember what I've said on my review of Galaxy Shooter where I compared it with the Milli Vanilli's lip-sync fail?, This is game is the Strategy equivalent of "Girl you know it's Girl you know it's Girl you know it's Girl you know it's Girl you know it's" but even worse since the game's main campaign is not 15 or 20, but 70 battle maps with a varying range of enemy waves from 10 to 50. Also, you'll be stucked for a long time in this game since from level 5 you'll be forced to repeat levels to get credits and upgrade things, and this game starts being too stingy with the rewards 'cos rather than giving you a fair 300 credits boost to slightly increase your defenses with a two-stage pace, the first missions grant you around $150 (enemies along with bosses), and the power upgrades for the turrets cost you $500 and the new technologies are around the thousands. ¿Just $150, does the military budget comes from their mommy's purse? Let's better talk about the upgrade screen, shall we?
Peace Sells, but who's buying?
The upgrade screen allows you to buy power upgrades for your turrets increasing their Fire Rate, Damage dealed and Range to intercept enemies, and develop new devices like blockades, range and power increasing plants and new weapons like the Artillery, Laser and Rocket turrets. As we've know already, getting credits is expensive, so the best strategy is to repeat the first two levels, buy the "Special" which gives you more money from destroyed enemies (and build expensive turrets faster), unlock the rocket tower and fully upgrade it. You'll be relying on this turret type for the rest of this game.
1000 Waves?, You're the Bravest Soldier ever known.
Everytime you clear the total of waves per stage, you're given the option of proceeding to the next mission or playing the leven on Endless Mode, which means throw you wave after wave after wave of enemies until your lives will finally deplete. Keep in mind, you are not going to get extra credits for the following waves in this mode, so any chances of using this for your advantages are off.
For a final insult to injury, once you finish wave 70, you might expect a decent ending, but the game just throws you back to the Stage Select screen. That's it. Not even a staff roll, or being condecorate by the High Command or something. Basically this is is a "Thank you. Now get out of here" type of ending. Ungrateful bastards.
With the gameplay analyzed, its time to talk about trophy unlocking, and this game redefines the concept of Trophy Milker taking it to new heights 'cos you're not gonna get 12, 14 or 20, but 66 Trophies: 64 Bronze, 1 Gold and Platinum with progression starting from Map 6 and up to Map 70.
Wasting time and ammo on a boring desert fight.
Graphically, the game manages to keep the hand drawn style from M.A.C.E. Space Shooter, but due to the switch from shmup to strategy, the character size is reduced, taking away some of the details that surprised due to their graphical quality. The enemy design is like a quote from Captain Planet: "Remember the Three R's: Reduce, Reutilize and Recycle. The Power is Yours!". EntwicklerX seems to be a practicioner of that principle, doing an exercise of the most lamest recycling by reutilizing the same enemies from M.A.C.E. Space Shooter, at the point of watching the once-aerial enemies moving on ground like if they were trucks and cars.
The sound department is forgettable as the music is an "Epic" styled soundtrack that aims to the tension-suspense moment of a sci-fi film. While the Title-Main Menu is the most intense in the range of epicness, the in-game music is slow and most of the times, boring.
M.A.C.E. TRIVIA CURIOSITIES
- The PC version was called M.A.C.E. Defense.
Glad to hear those words.
Hope the Trashfall is done for good this time.
M.A.C.E. Tower Defense is nothing more than a long, boring exercise of "Don't let anyone escape" that you can imagine. If you're looking for a good tower defense game, then stick to X-Morph Defense, which is waaaaay better than this game.
The "Lea Scale" is on its worst moment.
The only comforting news are this wasn't Breakthrough Gaming trash.