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» Robot Entertainment

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PAX East: Spoilers! You’re Going to Kill Orcs in Orcs Must Die! 2

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Dave Voyles in PC Previews, Previews | 2 Comments

Robot Entertainment’s 2011 hit Orcs Must Die! was a critical first strike from a new studio composed of industry veterans. Much of the team came from Ensemble, the studio responsible for the critically acclaimed RTS franchise Age of Empires, and the sequel will be hitting PC in 2012. Unfortunately for console gamers, the game is shaping up to be a PC exclusive, with Community Manager Justin Korthof stating that there are currently no plans to support a console release.

While at PAX East, I began my orc-slaying adventure with a partner by my side: certainly a welcome addition from the solo adventure of the previous title. Additionally, we had the option to choose from one-of-two playable characters. With my natural preference for wielding magic, I chose the femme fatale: a sorceress who complimented my War Mage male counterpart’s melee functionality well. All of the traps were still at my disposal, but I could also harness a wand with magical properties that allowed me to briefly turn orcish fiends against their allies. In the end, their powers are what separate the two, as well as a slight difference in health and mana reserves.

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Orcs Must Die 2 Murdering More Orcs This Summer, Playable at PAX East

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Mike Wall in News, PC, PC News | Leave a comment

We killed our fair share of orcs last year in Robot Entertainment’s Orcs Must Die!, but aparrently enough of those green jerks survived to scrape into a sequel. Orcs Must Die! 2 is slated to hit PCs this summer, less than a year after the original game was released. The War Mage from the original orc-slaying simulator will be joined by the somewhat dubious Sorceress for some cooperative orc smashing.

Orcs Must Die! 2 appears to subscribe to the “more, more, more” mentality that we’ve come to expect from video game sequels. It’s promising more enemies, a cooperative campaign, and more defensive traps to punish those wretched orcs. Perhaps most interestingly, a revamped skull system will allow players to make permanent upgrades to their defenses that will be persistent.

We’ll get our hands on Orcs Must Die! 2 this weekend at PAX East, but in the meantime, you can check out the teaser trailer above.

Orcs Must Die! Review: Genocide Never Felt So Good

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Taylor Bliss in PC Reviews, Reviews, XBLA Reviews | Leave a comment

so many orcs!

Tower defense is a genre that had an odd evolution. Similar to the MOBA, it began in RTS games as custom maps but because of its popularity grew into much more. Orcs Must Die! is a glowing example that tower defense has every right to be its own genre and not just a mode thrown in to an otherwise good game.

After your master is killed due to an unfortunate accident, you leave the title of apprentice behind you and become a full-fledged War Mage, but apparently the one that nobody wanted. This tone is conveyed throughout the game in the sparse narrations between levels. “If only it had been any other apprentice,” the old master dictates posthumously. It seems like an odd setup, but it works, with your character mostly filling that role with a very “dude-bro” attitude behind him. The only reason it feels out of place is a result of the sheer number of orcs you ceaselessly eradicate. Especially in the early levels, taking out the orcs is pretty easy, making it all the more satisfying. But it makes you wonder, “Why are all the other War Mages having so much trouble? This orc killing thing seems pretty straightforward.”

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Many Orcs Will Indeed Die on October 5 and 12

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Dave Voyles in News, PC, PC News, XBLA, XBLA News | Leave a comment

Orcs have long been the red-headed stepchild of the fantasy and gaming worlds. Why must we persecute them time and time again? We might not discover the answer to that question anytime soon, but we do have the answer for when many more of them will die: October 5 and 12, on XBLA and PC, respectively.

Orcs Must Die!, offers a unique spin on third-person tower defense, courtesy of Robot Entertainment, which you’ve been well informed of already. Want to  get your hands on some traps of your own? Click through for an interactive trailer which allows just that!

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Orcs Must Die! trailer reveals a true alternative to the Hadouken

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Dave Voyles in News, PC, PC News, PC Previews, PSN, XBLA, XBLA News, XBLA Previews | Leave a comment

The great debate over whether the force push was a viable alternative to Ryu’s Hadouken can finally be settled thanks to the latest trailer for Robot Entertainment’s Orcs Must Die! As our nameless hero sports his Wind Belt, he is imbued with a combination of both powers, allowing him to vault orcs across the castle with a blast from his hands. It also grants the ability to carry large objects, useful for explosive barrels or sending a helpless orc flying toward his green-skinned buddies in a game of catch. A lava bath works as well, although we can’t take responsibility for what it does to your skin.

If you’d like to know more, take a peek at our Orcs Must Die! hands-on from PAX East, and look for it on the PC and consoles this year.

Orcs Must Die! preview: Tower defense with a twist

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews, PSN, XBLA, XBLA Previews | 1 Comment


Even weeks later, all the PAX news still hasn’t come forward. We got the chance for another hands on with another title that was playable there. Orcs Must Die! Is a dungeon/tower defense game currently in development by Robot Entertainment. Comprised largely of former Ensemble Studios employees, older gamers will remember them for their well received RTS Age of Empires which was popular on the PC in the late 90s. Most recently, their last title before being disbanded was Xbox’s Halo Wars. I had the opportunity to catch up with designer Dave Leary, who walked me through their upcoming title, and here’s what I had to say.

As I started up Orcs Must Die! I was already planning my strategy based on what I had seen of the player in front of me. I was brought to a menu screen where I could select a number of weapons and defenses to best defend the siege upon my castle. I chose to go with the approach of utilizing the best stationary defenses I could muster, while simply providing supporting powers with little in terms of direct damage. The individual before me took a far different stance – he favored direct damage performed by his character, and only brought a handful of stationary defenses with him into battle.

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