14 DAY TRIAL // 
Anomaly: Warzone Earth surprised a lot of people back in 2011 when it was released for the PC, because it turned the tower defense genre on its head by allowing players to go on the offense and attack stationary towers with their units.
Since then, 11 Bit Studios has worked on a full-fledged sequel that not only introduces fresh towers, units, and a new story, but also a multiplayer mode that puts one player on the offense and another on the defense.
Does Anomaly 2 have the winning strategy or should it choose a different route? Let's find out.
Anomaly 2 advances the story of the original through time, putting players in the shoes of a rookie lieutenant that needs to help a rag-tag team of human survivors take out the alien machines once and for all.
Fortunately, the resistance is quite powerful and can send in all sorts of units into battle, which the player can then command using his special suit.
The core mechanics haven’t changed, as the sequel stays faithful to the tower offense system of its predecessors, once again allowing players to escort a group of units against the alien towers by choosing routes, deploying powers, and, as a brand new mechanic, choosing when to morph the units into their alternative forms.
This new transformation mechanic is quite interesting, as it can take units that are good in certain situations, like the basic Hound, and turn them into variations, like the Hellhound, which can more easily dispose of enemy towers in other situations. There's also an upgrade mechanic that can improve the armor or the damage output, so it's going to be tough deciding whether to improve existing units or add new ones to your squad by spending currency.
Things get even more interesting when it comes to the enemy tower types, as 11 Bit Studios has added a variety of newer and much deadlier foes like the Swarmer, while improving existing variations, like the Scorcher.
While the enemies have been improved, so have the powers that can be deployed by the player during combat. These still include old favorites like Repair or Decoy, but also a new EMP pulse that disables towers for a certain time, and a target ability that forces units to concentrate their fire on certain towers and deals more damage to them.
All these new elements make Anomaly 2 a different experience than its predecessors, and the single-player missions deliver a great mix of different objectives, mechanics, and tasks. Sadly, things can easily get hectic and players will often feel confused by what's going on.
While the campaign is a bit short and doesn’t have a lot of missions, they are quite varied. There are also some quirks, such as towers that don't stop firing when you enter cinematic sequences, and the placement of some checkpoints is rather annoying.
By far the biggest feature of Anomaly 2, however, is the multiplayer mode, which puts one player in the tower offense side and another in the traditional tower defense. These matches are waged on big maps and the attackers need to take out certain buildings, while the defenders need to prevent them from destroying the units by upping their scores until the limit of 1,000.
While the single-player Anomaly 2 experience doesn't have a huge number of hectic moments, the multiplayer is a completely different beast and each encounter can be decided by split-second reactions, not by the actual overall strategy.
As a result, the experience can be a bit unfair and feels a bit cumbersome at first, at least until you start learning all the commands and start issuing orders, either for attack or defense, as fast as you can. There are also different upgrades that can be chosen throughout the match, so you'll constantly be clicking around and hoping that the enemy isn't more skilled than you.
Balancing issues also affect the maps, as some are filled with powers and currency for the human player, while others are scarce and give the aliens an advantage.
In terms of visuals, Anomaly 2 is looking gorgeous, thanks to sharp contrasts between red and blue, not to mention a variety of environments, ranging from icy cliffs, to twisted cities or lush tropical environments.
Sound-wise, the game is decent but doesn't stand out. Voice actors are stereotypical and fans will certainly miss the British protagonists of the first game. The soundtrack is good and manages to make your adventures even more heroic.
Conclusion
Anomaly 2 is a good sequel, managing to bring a variety of new things in terms of powers, units, and towers. Sadly, the multiplayer doesn't really end up working because the tower defense/offense genres require lots of thinking and pausing, which doesn't work so well when playing online against others.
Even so, thanks to the great visuals and single-player mechanics, Anomaly 2 will definitely thrill fans of the series and of the genre.
