Anomaly 2
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sly strategy game puts a twist on tower-defense formula.
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Anomaly 2
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What’s It About?
The sequel to Anomaly: Warzone Earth, a game that turned the tower-defense concept on its head, ANOMALY 2 jumps ahead several years. The mechanical alien invaders that players fought in the first game have essentially defeated humanity, leaving Earth an environmentally altered ruin. The few remaining human survivors are working desperately to retrieve a military technology developed just before the planet's fall that may have the power to defeat the extraterrestrial intruders once and for all. As in the first game, the player's objective is to weave a convoy of military attack vehicles through a maze of enemy defenses by pausing the game and planning out routes on a map. The player's character -- a convoy commander who runs around on foot -- can collect and drop a variety of power-ups for his units, including distractions, shields, and repairs. New this time around is the convoy vehicles' ability to morph, Transformers-style, into different types of units, altering their attack and defensive characteristics. Players need to make use of these abilities at the right time when facing different types of alien towers.
Is It Any Good?
Anomaly 2 is generally content to stick with the so-called "tower offense" blueprint established in the first game. Working out efficient paths and effective convoy constituents remains a fun and strategic task. Difficulty is balanced in just the right way to make most missions accessible to casual players without denying a real challenge to more experienced gamers looking to earn all possible awards. The addition of unit-morphing abilities adds to the game's inherently tactical nature, forcing players to understand their vehicles' specific strengths to exploit enemy towers' weaknesses.
It's also a lot prettier than most tower-defense games, thanks largely to detailed three-dimensional postapocalyptic environments in which snowy mountains and ruined skyscrapers reach upward toward the camera in the sky. Anomaly 2 may not be quite as innovative as its predecessor, but it's still a lot of fun for strategy-minded players.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about strategic thinking such as the kind found in Anomaly 2. Do you enjoy creating plans and then watching events unfold as you intended? Are there times when it's more satisfying to simply act first? Have you ever found yourself retrospectively wishing that you thought before doing something?
Talk about the morality of conflict. When, if ever, is it OK to physically fight for what you believe in? Do you think the characters in this game are justified in their use of destructive force?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 4 , Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: 11-Bit Studios
- Release date: September 16, 2014
- Genre: Strategy
- Topics: Space and Aliens
- ESRB rating: T for Mild Violence, Language
- Last updated: January 13, 2022
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