NextWar is a fantastic tower-defense game that is challenging and horribly addictive. For $1 its a steal!
NextWar: The Quest For Earth (March 2009) is a tower-defense indie game by Adrian Tsai. And I'll say right up front that for $1 (80 MS points) it's one of the best buys around, being incredibly addictive and compelling in the same way that Miner Dig Deep is.
In NextWar, your goal is to take the galaxy back ultimately freeing the Sol system (and Earth, of course) from the clutches of the enemy. Each system (as you can see in the map above) is controlled by a race who hopes to dominate the galaxy. When you select each system, you can read brief notes on the population, planet history, elemental makeup etc, along with what bonuses you will receive when you take the system - examples being 10% increase in tower damage, 5% increase in starting pay, etc. You begin by selecting a system near your territory (the blue) but as you progress each system will be more challenging than the last by and large.
But lets get down to gameplay. If you're not familiar with tower-defense games, here's the gist of it: wave upon wave of enemies will enter the map and follow routes towards your base, which has a set amount of health/points. Between waves, your goal is to set up defensive structures such that you'll destroy the hordes before they reach your base. In NextWar, waves come every minute or so, depending on the difficulty of the map, but are able to be summoned instantly if you're all set up so as not to wait.
NextWar gets most of the gameplay factors really really right. Each wave will differ from the last in terms of movement speed, shield strength, and other abilities (like immunity from defensive fields which slow the enemy down). After about 5-7 rounds, you'll see the enemies recycle but with increased abilities (more hit points, more shields, faster etc). In each map you'll face around 20 waves of enemies, each increasing in power, which will constantly keep you on your toes as you progress through the map. Needless to say, its hard to ever take a wave for granted - any one, if you're not careful, can obliterate your work and send you away in defeat to the galaxy map to try it again.
Defensively, you start with 4 main tower types at your disposal, ranging in defensive ability and cost. Using the selection system taken right from Mass Effect, you bring up the building options by the Y button which summons up a wheel from which you can make your selections - and it works quite well. These include lasers (which are cheap but weak), rail towers (which have greater range and power), prism towers (which when built side by side cumulate damage and can be very powerful) and field effect towers which slow the enemy down in its radius. Each of these is upgradeable at considerable overall cost, and there are more defensive towers (like the advanced laser tower) which unlock from winning certain systems. The defenses are all different enough to require you to think strategically about your map, the route the enemy will take, and how best to set yourself up for success. Each is also colored in a solid primary color so as not to be at all confusing, thank god.
Each map is laid out differently too, which also requires a high degree of strategic thinking. Sometimes the enemy comes into the map in one location in two rows, sometimes in 4 different entrances in single rows, etc. The game maps are not only different, but continually ramp up for greater challenges as you progress, making the final maps not only a blast to play, but difficult to overcome. Each map also tells you which enemy is approaching, by the icon in the upper left hand corner, and the time you have remaining until that wave. At the bottom of the screen you'll have your interface menu, including the amount of money on hand (which you gain from destroying enemies), the percentage of money you earn per kill (you can invest in increasing this amount - a wise thing to do), and other indicators.
Aesthetically, NextWar has a retro look, but it serves wonderfully in this context. As Darwinia and Space Invaders have shown, you don't need super crazy graphics in a game that requires strategy or simple execution. The colors are very helpful in designating different defenses, and visually you'll likely be enamored with the presentation that is both functional and reminiscent of Tron. The musical score is also pretty solid and, while it does repeat, is long enough not to be irritating, and gives a great sense of battle and the struggle for survival - in fact its one of the best scores on any indie game I've played.
NextWar gets so much right that there's not a ton that could use improvement. However, the text is written very tiny, making it challenging to read if you don't have a highly pixelated tv screen. Not that its incredibly difficult to figure out the controls, but you'll likely need to do some tinkering simply because you can't read much of the information laid out for you. Also, the wheel menu is a little finicky, requiring you to be dilligent in your building selections, constantly wary of your cursor landing on the wrong thing to build. You can always stop building if you catch it quick, or just sell it at 50% of cost. Also, the campaign isn't super long - there's only 11 main campaign maps, which will leave you desperatly wanting more, like a junkie without a fix.
The other issue with NextWar is that the unlockable defenses require multiple spaces to build, but you won't know that from the menu, making you scratch your head a bit before you figure that out. Also, the end game system is kinda unfair, ending with a super-hoard of enemies that is almost impossible to stop, and who show up without warning. In fact, the last campaign level is so difficult, it'll probably take you hours to finish with many many retries.
Bottom line, if you're looking for an incredibly addicting game, $1 is a steal for NextWar. Strategically satisfying, aesthetically sound, and horribly addicting, it's absolutely one of the best indie games available on XBL. Do yourself a favor and check this one out.
Rating - 9/10