14 DAY TRIAL // 
Orcs Must Die 1 came out of nowhere last year and impressed many gamers both on the PC and on the Xbox 360. It delighted us with its action-oriented take on the tower defense strategy genre and we even named it our runner up for the best downloadable game of 2011.
Now, its developer, Robot Entertainment, is back with a sequel called, what else, Orcs Must Die 2, which promises to drastically improve upon its predecessor.
With the addition of a long-awaited cooperative mode, way more traps and monsters, not to mention a new playable character and many other things, Orcs Must Die 2 is definitely looking like an improvement over an already impressive experience.
Can the game deliver on its promises or should we feed it to the hungry Orcs? Let’s find out.
Story
Orcs Must Die 1 had a pretty definitive ending but, as always, quite a few things can happen and, through a series of events that are explained during this new title, the magical rifts connecting the magic world to the real one are opened once more, meaning the blood-thirsty Orcs are once again free to invade the realm of humanity.As such, the cocky War Mage from the original game, who now works as a miner, has to once again fight off the legions of Orcs. Thankfully for him, he’s got reinforcements, as the reformed Sorceress is here to help him battle the monsters and uncover the source of the new rifts.
The story is once again delivered through brief slideshows between certain stages and through dialog between the two protagonists during the beginning of the matches. While the whole plot isn’t that impressive, the dialog is once again quite funny, so you’ll certainly be fighting the Orcs with a smile on your face.
Gameplay In terms of gameplay, Orcs Must Die 2 isn’t that big of a departure from the core mechanics of its predecessor. You’ll once again be tasked with defending the rifts in front of the rampaging Orcs and all sorts of other monsters by using your brawn, through certain weapons, and your brain, through clever traps.
This time around, however, there is much, much more of practically everything. Ranging from the weapons, to the traps, monsters, or even game modes, you’ll certainly spend way more time with the new game than with its predecessor.
First up, weapons are now much more varied, as old favorites return, like the Blade Staff or the Crossbow, while new items are introduced, like a rather handy Blunderbuss. Various other things can act as weapons, from rings, to gauntlets or amulets, so you won’t be out of choices.
Besides your weapons, you can use all sorts of traps to defeat the rampaging Orcs, from classics like the Tar Pit or Arrow Wall, to all new ones like Ice Vents or Acid Sprayers. You can also use different trinkets that offer certain passive and active advantages, from regenerating health to a faster reset of your traps.
As opposed to items from the first game, all of the aforementioned things can be upgraded three times, and many also have unique abilities that can be selected. This can all be done from the Spellbook, which is organized in a much better way, by spending skulls that are earned by completing stages as efficiently as possible.
In case you make a mistake, you shouldn’t worry, as the Skulls can be refunded without incurring any penalty, unlike the original.
Of course, given this big increase in variety for your arsenal, the Orcish forces have also been beefed up, ranging from regular foot soldiers, to armored brutes, Ogres, Trolls, flying hellbats, and all sorts of other monsters. Each have different abilities and powers, so you must always carefully study the spellbook before the beginning of each stage and plan your defense strategy accordingly.
Thankfully, this time around, you can control not just the War Mage, but also the lovely Sorceress, who comes with a couple of special attributes. These include a bigger mana reserve, as well as unique traps, and a special Scepter weapon that’s quite handy when dealing with the clumsy Orcs, as you can either blast them away or charm them and make them fight for you, thereby distracting other enemies.
Sadly, the game still suffers from a few balancing issues, as the regular War Mage difficulty jumps a bit towards the middle of the game, and makes progressing through levels much harder, even with upgraded traps.
You can still lower the difficulty to Apprentice and earn a maximum of two skulls out of five in every stage. After this, you can spend them on upgrading even more traps and then going back to the War Mage difficulty.
While all traps are pretty decent, there isn’t that much of an incentive to change strategies, except if you’re trying to get higher scores. Most people, however, will mostly stick to a few tried and true weapon and trap combinations, which is a shame as some are way more fun (like the Ring of Storms).
In case the regular game mode bores you, there’s a special Endless mode available on certain stages that tasks you with defending yourself against the Orcs for as long as possible. These are definitely some of the most intense moments of Orcs Must Die 2, as strategy and split second reactions are crucial if you want to progress for as much as possible.
Multiplayer
One of the big new features in Orcs Must Die 2 is online cooperative multiplayer mode, which allows players to experience the campaign alongside a friend, as the War Mage or the Sorceress. These stages are much tougher than the ones from the single-player and require, especially towards the end, careful coordination, both in terms of strategy as well as weapon and trap choice.This is where the refund skulls option from the Spellbook comes in handy, as you can talk with your friend and make sure you get traps that work well together and pick the right upgrades for all your gear.
Once the actual stage starts, you can use a text chat option or a voice one, the latter of which proves mandatory especially during the more hectic end stages, when enemies arrive from many places and can easily overcome players if they’re not paying attention.
Visuals and Sound
Graphics-wise, you won’t notice that much of a difference between Orcs Must Die 1 and 2, although the newest title does have a bit more polish when it comes to character and level design. Some levels, especially the first few ones, are a bit too dark for their own good, especially since you can’t adjust the brightness from the game’s options menu.
The same cartoonish visual style is present and works perfectly with the humorous tone of the game. Orcs manage to look scary yet clumsy and the levels from Act 1, which are set in various Dwarven Mines, look more imposing than the temples from the first game.
In terms of sound, the game is also quite good, as the voice actors nail the comedic timing required for the dialogs, while the Orcs have all sorts of hilarious taunts when you inflict damage upon them.
The soundtrack features many songs from the original, which isn’t that bad considering they’re still quite catchy, especially the end-of-stage jingle, but they can get on your nerves after extended sessions.
The Good
- Same addictive gameplay
- More and better organized content
- Great cooperative mode
The Bad
- Not a lot of new things
- Jagged difficulty curve
- Not a lot of motivation to try out new traps or weapons
Conclusion
New modes like the Co-Op or the Endless ones keep players hooked on the experience, so you’ll quickly find yourself spending many hours with the impressive game, especially if you keep on improving your scores by trying out different strategies.
