GemCraft - Frostborn Wrath

Review

On starting a new game you’ll be able to select one of the eight empty game saves after which your first level will begin. On the first few levels you’ll have some help, as the game will explain how it works; you can also check the Tutorial tab on the game’s world map for more information. The object of the game is to complete each level by protecting the Orb of Presence from the waves of monsters.

There are multiple waves of a variety of monsters per level and they will enter the from one or more entrances on a map. These monsters will make their way down a pathway leading to your Orb, and should they reach it, they will destroy it. To prevent this from happening you can build Towers, Walls, and Traps which can be placed around the maps. You can construct towers and walls and use them to bottle-neck the monsters, making them slow down a bit as they make their way to your Orb.

Constructing these buildings on their own won’t do anything to stem the influx of monsters. However, you can add various Gems (depending on your current level) to the Towers and Traps which will help you destroy the monsters. You can have a total of nine gems stored in your inventory, which can be found on the right-hand side, centre of the screen. To use the gems, you will first need to create them.

You will of course need enough mana, and then you can select the required gem from those that are currently on offer to you. The gems on offer to you on any map are shown as you hover your cursor over the level you’re selecting and they will be displayed on the right-hand side of your screen. Once you have the gems you require, you will then need to place them onto the towers or traps, and they will start attacking the monsters. You can combine gems to create more powerful gem.  They don’t have to be of the same type of gem, although combined gems of different types won’t be as powerful as those combined with the same types. Combining gems costs more in mana but will help you greatly. 

The Gems will cost you Mana; how much will depend on the level of the Gem you want to create. You will gain mana as you kill the oncoming monsters, topping up your Mana Pool and allowing you to build or upgrade some more. This will allow you some extra benefits, such as Mana Replenishment Per Minute. You can also drop any unwanted Gems into your mana pool, and this will give you seventy percent of its mana value back.

The quantity of mana you start with will depend on you.  Each level will have a certain amount of mana to begin with, which you can increase by not using all the Skills Points that you’ve earned. You will gain some mana for having unused Skill Points, however using those Skill Points on Skills and their upgrades may work out better for you. You’ll have to figure out which is the best route for you. I did have a bit of trouble with not enough mana to start with on some levels, so I divided them between Skills and having a little bit of extra mana to start with (I was still bloody useless, but I never said that).

Skills can be found on the world map along with Talisman, Achievements, Journey Notes, Stats and Tutorial. You can use Skill Points to upgrade any Skills that are currently unlocked. Each skill can be upgraded or degraded whenever you like; if degrading a skill level, you’ll regain the skill points you spent on the level you upgraded. So, you can customise the skill levels prior to entering a game level at any time.

To help you decide on which skill to upgrade there is some information on the skill, its current level, what this skill will do for you, what the next level upgrade will do, and the cost of its next upgrade. You can unlock new skills, although these will cost you Shadow Cores, which are earned from completing game levels. Shadow Cores can also be used to unlock Talisman Slots, Boost Talisman Fragment Drops Rarity, Change Talisman Fragment Shapes and Upgrade Talisman Fragments.

Talisman Fragments are jig-saw pieces which can be add to the Talisman grid, which is a five by five grid. To begin with the inner five slots are empty; you will be able to unlock more, costing you Shadow Cores. You will gain fragments through completing levels. There are three types of fragments: Inner, Edge and Corner, which when added to your Talisman grid, will give you various bonuses. Each piece has information on the type of fragment, its rarity, its upgrade level, the bonus you’ll gain from using that fragment, upgrade cost, shape-changing cost and salvage value.

For each game level there are three game modes: Journey, Endurance and Trial.  Journey mode is your basic game mode (campaign); you must complete the Journey mode before you can enter the Endurance and Trial modes. Endurance is where you will have to defeat wave upon wave of monsters, which are much longer than in the Journey mode. Endurance is a good way to build up your level gaining plenty of experience points and other goodies. Trial mode is where you’ll be required to complete a challenging battle, and if successful, you’ll unlock the Wizard’s Stash. In Trial mode your skills won’t work; you start with a fixed amount of mana, along with a fixed set of battle traits, gems types and spells.

Upon defeating a level, you will gain experience points, shadow cores etcetera, and see stats on your performance. The stats detail your raw battle, previous highest and gained experience points, mana gathered, number of kills, structures built etcetera. These stats will go towards your General Stats, Journey XP, Endurance XP and Trial XP which can be viewed from the world map.

In the options you’ll find Audio, Visual Performance, Info Panel, Customisation and Hardcore Wizard Options. There are too many options to mention here, so I’m sure they’ll be enough to customise your game to your preferred liking.

I do like a good tower defence game and I have enjoyed playing this one so far. It looks and sounds good and plays well, and there’s plenty of information in-game to help you. The game is challenging (or at least, it has been for me thus far), but I don’t mind that. Even though I’ve struggled a bit I still think it’s a good game and worth getting a Thumbs Up!

Review written by Piston Smashed™ for Zeepond.com!