An ambitious game that mixes tower defense with third person action elements, and pulls it off very nicely.

User Rating: 9 | Dungeon Defenders PC
I was first introduced to Dungeon Defenders by a friend who got it through a charitable gaming bundle. I downloaded it, and kicked into the tutorial, which is adequate, but leaves a few little things for you to learn on your own. After playing through the first two levels, I was completely hooked. The mash-up of tower defense with third person action is elegantly done. I chose to play as an apprentice (a mage equivalent), but the base options are your typical warrior/ranger/-sneak thief choices, which are greatly expanded with DLC. The campaign is of moderate length, with 5 difficulty choices which can all be enhanced by enabling "Hardcore" mode. During gameplay, there are 5-12 waves of enemies (trying to destroy your "Eternia Crystal"), with each wave consisting of two phases, Build, and Combat. During the Build phase, you can lay down defenses consisting of blocks and towers, with stats that can be upgraded through leveling your character, wearing clothing and equipment with corresponding stats, or through upgrading the turrets and walls individually (EXPENSIVE!!). All things are paid for with Mana, which is used to heal yourself and your defenses, and to upgrade your items. You are given adequate resources through treasure chests given to you at the beginning of each Build phase, which allows you to build up your defenses as you go. Once Combat begins, it gets really fun. Your character starts off adequately equipped, and becomes truly powerful. Goblins and trolls come out of gates designated during the Build phase, so you should have laid out your defenses appropriately. Enemies are strong enough to keep you engaged, and your defenses are strong enough to hold them off and often times defeat them. The waves get significantly stronger each round, so you can't just sit back and relax. Enemies drop Mana when they die, so upgrading your equipment (a must, the perks are important to have) and repairing and building additional defenses shouldn't be a problem.

The game also comes with abundant challenge modes that unlock as you play through the campaign, and character customizations are also further expanded as you push forward. Many more are unlocked through DLC.

On the subject of customization, it is mostly superficial, but very expansive. You can customize the color of pretty much anything, even your base crystal. Different skins are available from challenges and DLC.