STEAMPUNK TOWER 2

Review

The organization called the Cult, led by an unknown individual and two of his henchmen, The Dark General and the Dark Lady, have a firm grip over Europe and all its Etherium mines. This mineral was found in England before the First World War and was developed as a new source of combustion in steam machines. Lord Bingham was once in charge of overseeing and defending these mines, but now he will need plenty of this mineral to power his new flying fortress, which is equipped with a unique battle tower. Will his new steam machine be enough to defeat the Cult army and free Europe? That will be for you to find out, Commander, in Steampunk Tower 2!

STEAMPUNK TOWER 2 is an action / strategy game where you take command of Lord Bingham’s flying fortress and its battle tower in an epic campaign throughout Europe against the force of the Cult.

After launching the game, you’ll be presented with a map of Europe, with your secret base located somewhere in the south-west of Madrid (how exotic, don’t you think?) Click on it and you’ll enter the base. At first, you’ll have a small train station, a few residential areas and an armoury at your disposal, as well as a few free lots where you’ll be able to build new structures when you have enough resources in your coffers. It will always cost you Etherium to build or upgrade your structures within the base, in addition to a few extra requirements, such as acquiring a certain number of components and a higher level of experience, which you’ll receive by defeating the enemy in battles. It will also cost you a certain number of Etherium to purchase turrets, but you will need to gather components and income in order to upgrade your turrets and your battle tower.

As you switch back to the map, most of Europe will be hidden early on but you’ll be able to locate the position of your next fight by clicking on the red towers. For your first couple of fights, your tower will only have two floors (progressing to a maximum of five floors with 10 turrets) and only two turrets will be able to be displayed on each side. The army of the Cult will come in waves; up to 6 waves per battle. At first, you’ll fight infantries as well as some sort of flying bombs, but as you progress throughout the campaign, units the likes of tanks, helicopters and even robots will come en masse in an attempt to destroy your tower. Each of your turrets will have two gauges underneath; the blue gauge will be filled in as your turret destroys enemy units, and the yellow gauge represents the ammunition and will decrease until your turrets are empty. To reload the ammunition, place your turret in the middle of the tower. It can become a little bit tricky when both of the turrets on the same floor run out of ammo, as only one turret can be put on that space at any given time. Don’t despair, you can purchase super weapons before the start of each battle, in addition to a few other things that will slow down the enemy ground forces. I particularly like the artillery and the rockets. Your towers have lasers that you can activate, but there is a maximum of four; each time you use one it will take time to regenerate, and you can only regenerate by forcing the enemy waves to come faster.  Or take the easy way out and purchase another one! If you win the battle, you’ll be rewarded with three crates, containing either components, money or Etherium. It will also unlock a small area of the map; you’ll have access to new cities where you can send your agents to collect more minerals with a view to upgrading your base, weapons and tower.

This is an addictive games and after 8 hours gameplay I have only defeated one of the bosses! This is due to the fact that the cult army keeps taking back some factories located in coastal areas every 12 minutes.  What little buggers!

Graphically the game looks great and runs very well; the soundtrack is pretty cool, too. You’ll be using the mouse in regards to the control. It is a little bit repetitive but as you progress through the game new enemy units are added, which is fun and keeps you going. I do think it could have been a little bit more challenging.