In the distant future after the apocalypse, a new energy source emerges and cities are constructed around these spots so people can mine there and eke out a living. But these new energy sources also have attracted giant creatures who attack the cities (think Pacific Rim).  In the game Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault, you are a commander of a city and must build it up so it can withstand the onslaught of monster attacks.  Kind of like a cross between SimCity and a tower defense game.  It’s available for Sony’s current game consoles, but reviewed on PS3 here.

The game consists of two phases. In the Planning Phase, you use resources and tax money to build residential areas like houses and parks for people to live in and be happy.  But you must also build cannons, missile launchers, and shields to protect the city.  As you grow, you can level up the city, get promotions, level up your crew, and even take charge of new cities later on.  Speaking of your crew, you have a team of weapon experts, R&D, and city builders under your command and you can manage who is on your team and level them up later on.  Your crew is a lively bunch of anime inspired characters, and while I felt they talked too much at times, it was kind of fun to listen to their banter and I liked their character designs.

Once you feel you are prepared for battle, you can go into Strike Phase. In this phase, giant monsters come at your city from all sides, and you must attack wave after wave of them until they are gone.  Your cities are built like a circle, with the command center in the middle.  If the monsters reach the middle and destroy your base, it’s Game Over.  The cities’ structures: buildings, cannons, and shields, are all in circles around the base, like the rings of a tree.  You rotate the circles so that your weapons are in the best range to shoot the monsters around the city.  When the monsters are close enough, your cannons and missiles will automatically fire at them.  When all the monsters in the waves are destroyed, you win that Strike Phase and can collect resources to use in the next Planning Phase again.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

Aside from there being a tad too much dialogue, the only other main problem I had with the game was with some of the controls. It takes a little getting used to figuring out how to rotate your city rings around.  And while they do a good job of gradually showing you the rules and gameplay aspects, the learning curve can be a little steep in places.  Luckily you can change the difficulty at any time, but it can still get a little tricky sometimes if you don’t know what you’re doing.  Even so, this game turned out better than what I expected it would be.  If you like SimCity games but want a little more action and urgency; you may want to check this one out.

Kid Factor:

Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is rated T for Teen with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Mild Suggestive Themes. You don’t really see people getting hurt, just monsters getting pelted with firepower and falling over and disappearing when defeated.  The mild language and suggestive themes are used sparingly and somewhat subtly in the text.  Speaking of which, reading skill is a must, and while I’d be OK with kids younger than teens playing this, the complexity of the gameplay makes this title best enjoyed by older kid gamers.

Tags: Game Reviews