I love it when a plan comes together. I think this is the main reason I wanted to be a computer programmer. There are very few things as satisfying as having an algorithm always return the expected result.
This is probably why I fell in love with Final Fantasy XII. The gambit system was designed to help minimize micromanagement so the player could concentrate on the overall strategy of the battle. One could for example automate healing and attacking and manually control the use of items or stronger attacks. I remember being advised to turn off gambits during boss battles when I read the reviews for the game. I took it to the extreme. I seldom entered commands manually, even for the group leader. I just loved moving across the "world" facing every kind of creature without having to alter my gambits. Sure, I'd have to make small tweaks for some bosses, but that's how Final Fantasy works. Good think they were no monster spawn points and the ones that were already there would stick to their territory, because otherwise I'd have reached level 99 on all my characters overnight (like I did on FFVII when I taped the "attack" button down and let the Midgar Zolom repeatedly attack me)
My first experience with this kind of mechanic was with Final Fantasy Tactics for the Playstation (1). As the name implies this game was all about tactical movement and planning. It had a feature in which you could set a character on "auto pilot", mostly intended to reduce tedious tasks (like healing). As soon as I learned of this feature I turned ALL my characters on auto. I'd carefully select which skills to teach my units, skipping the unnecessary ones to intentionally limit their arsenal. I beat the last boss with all my characters in auto.
Imagine my delight to find Square-Enix had released a tower defense game based on the Tactics franchise. I wonder how this game had managed to fly under my radar for over a year. Two episodes (R1 and R2) were released, but as far as I've read R1 is basically the first 30% of the full game and most missions are exceedingly easy. I suggest you go straight to R2; the game doesn't really have a narrative and you get more diverse units and more complex maps.
The game's mechanics may appear overly simplistic at first. Wave after wave of enemies march over a set path, and if enough of them get to the other side, you lose. You try to stop them by placing units around (never on) the trail that will take swings at the enemies that walk across their set range (it is hilarious when in motion). The enemies keep walking and never fight back, so your guys never die. The problem is that each wave is composed of more creatures, each faster, stronger or immune to certain attacks. Eventually one of those critters will survive the ambush and reach its goal, your stash of crystals.
That’s where the game stops being simple. All units cost money and you only gain money by defeating enemies, so you have to keep a tight budget (overspending in the first few waves will make it harder to acquire better units later) while keeping an eye on what kind of monster is next in case you need to adjust your defenses. After every round you need to decide whether to get more units, upgrade or place crystals nearby to make them more powerful. The "wave" does not start until you're ready and you can always place or upgrade units on the fly or by pausing.
I breezed trough about 4 maps (with about half a dozen missions, each), getting perfect results at times, until I hit this one map that always seems to burn through my crystals at a different point (so I never know what it is that I did wrong). I've spent all day at work thinking of different strategies and drawing maps on post-its for when I get home.
The graphics and music are all straight from FFTA2, but I don't mind because they're nice and the game was cheap.
I suspect the experience will be short but sweet, with some pauses on tougher maps. In order to stretch it out I'll try not to advance until I get a perfect rating.
In my opinion this game provides an excellent balance between casual and hardcore play. The mechanics are simple and gameplay in general is relaxing, yet it requires a certain level of skill; perfect for relaxing after work. So if this sounds like your kind of game and you have 8 bucks to burn, give it an try and drop me a line so we can exchange strategies.
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