Disclaimer: We would like to note that Codex Worlds gave us a press copy of the game on Steam which will turn into a full version of the game once it is released. This article is also a preview and possible changes between the time this article is published and the time of release are likely to happen.
First off I want to point out that the computer I’m using isn’t exactly made for gaming. It’s actually an old Sony Vaio Tap. That means that I was playing the game using the internal graphics on an i3 processor with 4GBs of RAM. It gets pretty scary when the game is being downloaded and everyone just tells you “good luck” after they find out your specs. I was actually able to run the game just fine without any lag right after the launch. So if you plan on playing this game with an entry-level PC or laptop, you’ll be just fine.
That being said, the first thing I noticed was that despite my limitations, the graphics looked amazing. When Dexter Chow of Codex Worlds said that they didn’t want the visual presentation to be the same as many other games in the tower-defense category, he meant it. As soon the game starts you are instantly blown away by them. It made me think of the first time my parents took me to the NASA Space Center in Houston and just being sucked into everything around me. It’s a fully 3D Space game in the tower-defense category.
It did leave me thinking that the graphics were actually a little to good. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with how the game looks, it just made me want to actually be able to move my ship around. I wanted to explore other planets and meteors; heck, I wanted to go into the ship itself and look around as well.
I did get a little scared before the first mission started. Partially because I never really played many games in this category and I always sucked at strategy games. I ended up having to restart the first mission 4 times because I kept screwing up, but it did it in the way that a great game should. I never once blamed controls or the difficulty like we all do sometimes. I felt like it was actually just my fault. I learned from my mistakes what to do or not to do and changed my approach based on that.
At first, I thought the game was a little show for me, but after you get to level 3 it starts to get really intense. You have 4 different quadrants where you can place your weapons and they also introduce other smaller ships that you can send to attack them. Trust me, after level 3, you’re going to use all of them right out of the gate. So you definitely need to plan out your defense based on the different colored portals that are coming your direction. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that. In the bottom left hand there is a small radar that tells you what color portal is coming and at which quadrant. This makes you know how to prepare for the defense. The different colored portals will have different ships. You act accordingly by building the proper weapon to combat the attack. Each weapon has a different range and attack speed. The cheapest is the Pulse which is designed for close combat with medium speed, while you have others like the Railgun that has a Range 3 with Medium speed, although that costs 200k each to build.
So what do I think of the game so far? Well it’s still in beta so I know that some things are going to be tweaked, but to be honest, I don’t think much needs to be changed. I had so much fun playing Infinium Strike that I don’t think I could go back and play any other Tower Defense game. My standards are that high for the game. Like I noted at the beginning, I don’t really have much experience in this category, so I don’t really know to compare it to many other games. That still doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is looking to get into the Tower Defense category;far from it. I had such a fun time during my 2 and a half hours spent playing the game so far, I really can’t wait to see what the full game has in store. If you’re into space games and this category. I would recommend you getting this game. If you are interested, they’ve just started their closed beta today which you can register at http://www.codexworlds.com/ You’ll really enjoy it, I guarantee it.
