I’ve been playing the single player campaign for Sol Survivor for over a week now and this weekend I got to spend some time playing the verses and co-op modes. I have seen a lot of people comparing Sol Survivor to Defense Grid (which I loved), but really I do not think it is fair to compare them because they are very different types of tower defense games. It would be like comparing Gears of War to Call of Duty.  Sure, they are both shooters but beyond that they have very little in common. Defense Grid is all about setting your towers up so they can do the most damage at the last possible moment to conserve your resources.  Sol Survivor is a much more action oriented tower defense game where you are using your resources as soon as you can to build more towers and where actively using your support abilities can be the deciding factor in if you win a round or not.

The single player campaign is similar to most tower defense games in that you start with your basic towers and as you progress a few levels you unlock more advanced towers. As you unlock new worlds to defend you also have new Commanders to use.  These commanders have different sets of towers and support abilities available to use. Each commander’s options leads to a specific play style so learning how to use each one effectively is a big part of each new commander. I really like how the story progresses and you can find the Commanders who fit your play style. It is important to become familiar with a few of them if you’re going to play multiplayer and co-op matches because pairing commanders who can compliment each other makes for some sweet advanced tactics. I’m not sure how long the full campaign is because I’ve not gotten to the end yet, but it seem pretty lengthy as I’ve been playing for quite a while now and it shows no signs of letting up.

In addition to the single player campaign there are also co-op levels you can play with four people.  I got a chance to play some co-op this weekend with a couple of the developers of Sol Survivor. They level layout in co-op is a little different than single player. Each player in the co-op match gets a section of the map that only they can build on and then there is a communal section where anyone can build.  The cooperative mode really requires a lot of teamwork to be able to survive. By coordinating you tower building you can setup great gauntlets with towers from multiple commanders that really compliment each other. Additionally, using complimentary support abilities can really take out enemies fast.  For instance, in one match one of my teammates has an EMP support ability that takes off shields and I had a Nuke.  We put these together and took out three huge bosses in one massive attack. Another great combination we found was to put some of my anti-air towers that slow their movement while doing a little damage next to my team’s missile towers. This would slow down the flying enemies so that the missile turrets had even more time to fire on the enemies. These are just a few of the examples of the combos that are available and finding cool new strategies is going to keep me coming back for more co-op for a long time to come.

I also got to play some of the verses multiplayer matches this weekend as well. I did not get around to trying the War mode where you send the waves at the opposing team but I’m really looking forward to playing that as soon as I can. I did however play some of the other verses mode where each team tries to survive the longest while getting the highest score. I was really digging this mode because you have your whole section of the map available for your team to build on.  In one match my teammate built 9 mortars and then just kept leveling them up. I then focused on on flame throwers and anti-air flack guns.  Our strategy of focusing on specific attack types worked well.  The key was communicating when enemies were getting close to slipping through our defense so we could coordinate our support abilities on them.

Sol Survivor is extremely polished in every area.  The graphics and animations look great, and the sound is spot on. The towers all look and feel different in how they work and they are easy to tell which are working effectively against different enemy types. Additionally, the guys over at Cadenza Interactive who created Sol Survivor have been very proactive in supporting the community.  They have already release additional maps and a game update. One of the big bonuses about the game update is a dedicate trial mode that really helps you get into the game without out too steep of a learning curve.  The also have hosted multiple gaming sessions where their whole team gets on for an afternoon or evening and plays with anyone who is interested. Having participated in the last community gaming session I really appreciate all their work and support.  It was an absolute blast and I was sad to see it drawl to an end. They also host and actively participate in the forums on their site. It is really nice to see a developer getting so involved with the gaming community.

If you like tower defense games and you have not tried Sol Survivor yet you really should.  It is one of the best tower defense games I’ve ever played, and the co-op and verses modes are some of the most unique and entertaining in the genre. I don’t know what Cadenza Interactive has planned next but I’m confident that I’ll enjoy whatever it is.

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