An endless supply of troops, out to get a certain objective, for better or worse.  One side will succeed and the other will be doomed to failure and have to face the bitter pill of defeat. Sounds like a familiar premise? Well it should if you have ever played a strategy game.  But as simple as it may seem, you always have your work cut out for you. This is the case with Base Invaders, as you take control and try to stop a group of invaders from destroying your tower. What does this mysterious tower hold?  And why do the invaders want it? Well there are many reasons to go around, from simply lynching your ally ‘Traitor’, or perhaps the invaders do not have much to do and decide to attack your big and tall tower. Silliness aside, you have many different tactics and ways you will have to repel the invasion force and save the sacred tower and all the glory that comes with it.

In the game, you control a hand; yes, you read that right. a hand. This is what you will use to deploy traps on the battlefield, and most importantly throw those invaders out of the battlefield. You will not always have time to throw the invaders yourself, and that is where the traps come in. There are fourteen traps available in the game, but you will learn how to use them through different subsequent stages. You have a limited amount of funds, which grows as you defeat the invaders.  Each trap costs a certain amount of cash, so you have to pick your traps carefully, so that each of them can execute the most amount of damage with the lowest chance of being damaged by the invaders.

It is also highly recommended that you play through the tutorials to learn about the other controls of the game, mostly in regards to movement. The good thing as well is that the first few stages will ease you into the general feel of the game and the different enemies you will encounter along the way. Each stage brings about a new enemy invader that you will have to defeat, along with the invaders of previous stages. Luckily, your ally ‘Traitor’ will give you all the information you need to succeed and tips on how to defeat each new enemy that you encounter.

The overall concept of the game with its blend of action and RTS elements works really nicely, as you are playing through each of the stages. You have to balance your trap placements, along with using your hand to throw away the invaders.  While it may seem to be quite easy in the early stages of the game, once you get to the later ones, you will have to be quick; otherwise, the tower that you are defending will go down in a hurry. The great thing is that with the tips you receive from ‘Traitor’, you are eased into the game quite nicely, so you will not feel overwhelmed with the new invaders that will enter the new stages. The challenge element is balanced nicely all around, and it does take quick reflexes to react to the multitude of invaders that come your way. By dividing both the traps that are already available, with the new ones you can build, and trying to flick the invaders away, all the while keeping an eye on the traps that are destroyed and have to be replaced, there is a fair amount of micro management going on.

The concept itself is quite interesting to see in action, as you are trying your best to defend the sacred tower in the middle of the map in most cases. Once the tower does go down because of the invaders, that will end the level and you will have to retry it once again. In most cases, there is a set amount of waves of invaders that will attack, and once you defeat them all, you will be able to move onto the next stage. You also have the option available; to choose which level you wish to begin, in case you feel that the early stages are too easy and wish to jump ahead. It was a nice option to be included with the game, as sometimes not all gamers are accustomed to the RTS style of gameplay and want to explore the later stages to see what they are like.

The game gets progressively challenging as you advance through the levels, almost to the point where it is overwhelming in the later stages, with the amount of invaders attacking and having to stop them, all the while facing the numerous types of invaders. While there are only ten stages that you can experience in the game, there is just enough content and action to see that it almost seems like plenty. Also keeping in mind that the game was made by students of the DigiPen Institute of Technology, and needless to say, they did a superb job with the game.

The music in the game is all right, you will definitely get used to the one track that is used throughout the stages. I did not find too much of a problem with it, and almost zoned it out because of the amount of concentration that is going on trying to stop the invaders that are going from the many different directions. The different sound effects in game also sound good, with the only character that you may get annoyed with is ‘Traitor’ with his interesting speaking voice.

What also makes the game such a unique one to see, is the different sayings the invaders will say as they are trying to get to your tower. Pretty much all of them gave me a laugh in some way, with some being absolutely hilarious and others giving me a minor chuckle. These little taunts, thoughts, and more from the invaders do give it a more personal feeling, but do not let it make you less guilty in chucking these little guys away.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable game that was both fun to play and had a nice challenging element that will challenge any type of gamer. If you are looking to chuck some invaders with your in game hand, and destroy them with traps, all the while listening to their witty banter, look no further than Base Invaders.