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PAX South 2015: Dungeon Defenders II | PSNStores

PAX South 2015: Dungeon Defenders II

Posted by on January 29th, 2015 | 1 Comment | Tags:

Last week I made the trip to San Antonio, TX, for the inaugural PAX South. One of the games I was fortunate enough to play was Dungeon Defenders II. I never played the original Dungeon Defenders on PS3, but after spending close to an hour with its successor on the PS4, I’m intrigued to see the final product from developer Trendy Entertainment.

Dungeon Defenders II originally started as a MOBA, which was changed to its original tower defense type gameplay due to its poor reception when the game was first revealed. The game controls like a third person action game instead of a top down view, like other tower defense games. The third person view makes it easier for your character to engage and fight oncoming waves of enemies. Using the dual analog sticks and triggers of the Dualshock 4 felt great, and Trendy Entertainment has overhauled the controls so they work naturally on a controller, compared to a mouse and keyboard.

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At the start, a main character is chosen. For the demo, I chose the role of the squire, which is more a brute/heavy type character. The goal is simple, eliminate the enemy’s forces before they can reach your base. To eliminate the oncoming orcs and goblins, turrets and defenses will be needed. Enemies will come from multiple lanes and both small and large enemies fill up the battlefield. Enemies can come from all sides at one time so it’s important to divide up your turrets and defenses in each area. Strategy becomes very important in these areas.

Turrets and defenses can be repaired, sold, and upgraded after they are built. Traps are also set around the area that can either freeze or set enemies on fire. Characters can also be switched after each wave, allowing you to develop new strategies and tactics. In addition to switching characters, the characters you select can level up and gain new abilities.

Some may be surprised to know that the game will be free-to-play, but the developers assured me it would not be pay to win. All of the microtransactions in the game will be cosmetic. Cosmetic enhancements will change the look of the turrets, defenses and characters.

I enjoyed my time with Dungeon Defenders II. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.