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[Dusk Golem]

I'm surprised no one has been talking about this game, or claimed the OT, or anything, as it just came out today, and it is better than the first in virtually every way.

Sanctum 2 is an indie tower defense/FPS hybrid sequel that features a futuristic setting, online co-op, explorable environments full of secrets, and improves over many of the complaints of the first game. Including several modes and customizable options, including a new character class system and a story mode, the game has also been heightened with improved FPS mechanics and higher-budget animations.

I wasn't really expecting to make the OT for this game, so going to get through the knit-and-grit of the game right now.

Available For: PC, 360 (XBLA), PS3 (PSN)

Price: $14.99 ($44.99 for a four-pack)

Release Date: May 15th, 2013

VIDEO:

Sanctum 2- Launch Trailer

Sanctum 2- Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Sanctum 2: TotalHalibut PAX East Look

Sanctum 2- Giant Bomb Quick Look

REVIEW:

IGN: 8.5/10
Forbes: 8/10
Official Xbox Magazine: 8/10
Gaming Trend: 83/100
Geekenstein: 4.5/5
Game Revolution: 3.5/5
Hardcore Gaming Magazine: 9/10
Eurogamer: 8/10
We Got This Covered: 8/10

IMAGE:

Season Pass:

This game, does in fact, have DLC. There's a Season Pass available on Steam and other services for four major content add-ons that will be made fully available by February, 2014. The pass costs $11.99.

 

[antitrop]

For famousmortimer: #FuckTenTowers

 

[Concept17]

Looks much better than the first game. The first had some potential, but was ultimately boring to play.

 

[-MB-]

Shouldn't that be Colossi?

 

[Dusk Golem]

Shouldn't that be Colossi?

Could be, couldn't be, all I know is I was just attacked by a small army of giant ticks and fucking golems that can smash through my towers.

 

[antitrop]

Shouldn't that be Colossi?

If there's anything I've learned from StarCraft II, it's that yes it should be and every strategy is cheese.

 

[Dusk Golem]

For famousmortimer: #FuckTenTowers

That's one thing I can agree with as it sort of encourages you to play online with the tower limit, however that's so far the only real complaint I have.

Looks much better than the first game. The first had some potential, but was ultimately boring to play.

I liked the first game, but it did feel rather dull and a bit too easy as towers stacked-up. This one thankfully uped everything, though while the first game felt a bit more tower-defense with FPS elements, this one feels much more FPS with tower defense elements. They're still all there, but now with a larger variety of monsters (and all of which attack you and can kill you now, along with improved AI and moves), things can get hectic as more and more enemies are introduced and gunplay is a lot more important here as well as being smart with how you tackle them, especially in packs or when a tricky giant monster is around.

I also like a lot of the small new things in. The towers are improved, the way they connect looks really cool, I like how some stages open up more and more as waves progress or more enemy gates open up, I like the new boss-like monsters, the soundtrack is really awesome, and I love the expanded exploration that even can reward you with things (such as mines or miniature mini-games you can do between waves). Everything also feels a lot nicer, from gunplay to constructing.

 

[famousmortimer]

Thanks for getting my hashtag in there anti.


The game is ok. As a package it's much more polished and meaty than Sanctum 1. There's a ton of maps (vs 3 in vanilla S1) and everything is pretty and whatnot.


But the actual gameplay is a step back, imo. Less towers = less strategy. I mean I get that it's a different kind of strategy about building mazes that bring the creeps back around to the few towers you have... but that pales in comparison to the amount of different strategies you had at your disposal in the first game. But, at the same time, it also means the game is far more balanced and is likely harder to break by just spamming one of a certain tower type.


Now the guns I have the opposite complaint about. In the first game they were pretty simple, no recoil... big clips, etc. In the early going atleast the recoil and clip size are absurd. Usually I would like the added challenge but I feel like I'm spending more time reloading/swapping weapons than I am firing.



I don't hate it. I will play it and get my $15 out of it. But after loving Sanctum 1 to death I'm definitely a bit disappointed.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

live stream

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/15/ign-live-presents-the-first-two-hours-of-sanctum-2

 

[Dusk Golem]

Thanks for getting my hashtag in there anti.


The game is ok. As a package it's much more polished and meaty than Sanctum 1. There's a ton of maps (vs 3 in vanilla S1) and everything is pretty and whatnot.


But the actual gameplay is a step back, imo. Less towers = less strategy. I mean I get that it's a different kind of strategy about building mazes that bring the creeps back around to the few towers you have... but that pales in comparison to the amount of different strategies you had at your disposal in the first game. But, at the same time, it also means the game is far more balanced and is likely harder to break by just spamming one of a certain tower type.


Now the guns I have the opposite complaint about. In the first game they were pretty simple, no recoil... big clips, etc. In the early going atleast the recoil and clip size are absurd. Usually I would like the added challenge but I feel like I'm spending more time reloading/swapping weapons than I am firing.



I don't hate it. I will play it and get my $15 out of it. But after loving Sanctum 1 to death I'm definitely a bit disappointed.

I can see that opinion perspective. I feel the towers can be really useful but it is much better to upgrade a tower up in this game rather than emass them like in the first game, and due to the limit being much more strategic with them and the stage layouts to make the most of them. The guns charge automatically, so I usually just switch between them, which is true but not a bad point for me as I did that in the first Sanctum to when they recharged.

 

[famousmortimer]

Yeah I dont mind weapon swapping, it just happens much quicker. I'm only on like the 5th or 6th level so once I level up more I may get weapons that don't unload in 15 seconds and I won't care anymore.


The strategy is decent with the limited amount of towers. Not as bad as I feared. But if given the choice I would prefer how it is in S1.

 

[SparkTR]

Why did this and Anomaly 2 have to launch on the same day? Too much tower defense.

 

[alazz]

I'm surprised no one has been talking about this game, or claimed the OT, or anything, as it just came out today, and it is better than the first in virtually every way.

You've got me. Sanctum is/was one of the most addictive games of this generation for me. I think at my best I was rank 32 on the leader board for the Caves (edit: nope, it was Mines I think). It was a pretty big deal for me, since I've never made a significant placement on a leader board before. I'm trying my best to remain staunch, though; it's finals' week and if I buy it now I likely won't be able to stop playing it until well after next Tuesday.

Reading through your and famousmortimer's dialogue has me intrigued, too. I always wanted a little more shooter mechanics in Sanctum but I also wanted a more robust maze-building toolbox. How exactly have the towers been changed? Do you have a limited pool of towers instead of all you can afford?

As a tangent, I respect Coffee Stain Studios a lot. They seemed transparent and very receptive on their official forum while I was still knee-deep in the original. Cool guys.

 

[Metal Gear?!]

So let me get this straight...

1) Ten Tower Limit
2) Limited build time
3) Fewer tower types
4) No hurt/slow floors
5) Towers only have 3 upgrade levels
6) No weapon upgrades
7) No shared resources - they just drop boxes by the core and any player can just scoop them all up? Really?
8) SEASON PASS BUY IT NOW WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU WILL BE GETTING

I mean wow. Why are they even calling this Sanctum 2? They should have made it a spinoff.

Why did this and Anomaly 2 have to launch on the same day? Too much tower defense.

Anomaly is Tower Offense and apparently this is barely TD at all?

 

[famousmortimer]

You've got me. Sanctum is/was one of the most addictive games of this generation for me. I think at my best I was rank 32 on the leader board for the Caves (edit: nope, it was Mines I think). It was a pretty big deal for me, since I've never made a significant placement on a leader board before. I'm trying my best to remain staunch, though; it's finals' week and if I buy it now I likely won't be able to stop playing it until well after next Tuesday.

Reading through your and famousmortimer's dialogue has me intrigued, too. I always wanted a little more shooter mechanics in Sanctum but I also wanted a more robust maze-building toolbox. How exactly have the towers been changed? Do you have a limited pool of towers instead of all you can afford?

As a tangent, I respect Coffee Stain Studios a lot. They seemed transparent and very receptive on their official forum while I was still knee-deep in the original. Cool guys.

There is a tower limit on each map. You get a set amount of blocks for maze building and a small amount of currency between each wave (also there are way less waves in default mode, there is a survival mode as well). The highest tower count i've seen thus far is 10. There are way more maps, most of them are smaller thus far but there are a few bigger ones as well. Most of them have large areas where you can't build mazes at all.


So it's basically 1/3 the TD/maze building of Sanctum 1. And it's hard to claim that shooting is 'more important' in S2 than S1 because both games require you to shoot 99% of the time.


It's a decent enough time, despite being disappointing. But Metal Gear?! here is right, it may have been better served with a palette and character swap and a new name. For anyone who loved the strategy of the first game you will be disappointed with this.

 

[Dusk Golem]

So let me get this straight...

1) Ten Tower Limit
2) Limited build time
3) Fewer tower types
4) No hurt/slow floors
5) Towers only have 3 upgrade levels
6) No weapon upgrades
7) No shared resources - they just drop boxes by the core and any player can just scoop them all up? Really?
8) SEASON PASS BUY IT NOW WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU WILL BE GETTING

I mean wow. Why are they even calling this Sanctum 2? They should have made it a spinoff.

Anomaly is Tower Offense and apparently this is barely TD at all?

1.) Limit changes per stage.
2.) Only certain waves have limited build time, and its only about a fifth of them. Most don't have any build time, but certain waves do (usually about a minute)
3.) More than Sanctum originally started off with before updates.
4.) Not yet (but could be added easily in future updates)
5.) Yes and no, as there are different stats to a tower you can upgrade. It isn't like the first game where you upgrade and everything about the tower is upgraded, but you switch between different variables of the tower you upgrade (there are three upgrade 'levels' that give the towers new abilities, but not the levels aren't the only added thing as each resource you pump into them add a little more to range, damage, etc, by just a little).
6.) Not by using resources, not everyone is going to like this but the gun upgrade system is perk-like now.
7.) I haven't played multiplayer much yet, but I am pretty sure people get different pick-ups. Don't quote me on this.
8.) The first game had a ton of DLC, just not a season pass.

Its different, yes. But I also think its a lot more fun personally, and friends who have picked it up so far agree. Sanctum 1 was Tower Defense with less FPS elements, this is sort of visa versa. The first game didn't now have FPS elements, it just was more tower-defense. This game is more FPS, but with more tower-defense elements. The change make matches more frantic, but I don't think it makes it not feel like something that's not Sanctum. It still feels like Sanctum to me, it still looks like it, sounds like it, the stages are designed like it. There's also a lot of depth I would argue still to tower defense, not all of which is immediately obvious, and there's still plenty of towers and a lot of management that goes on. It isn't like the game just went mindless FPS, the tower-defense mechanics are downplayed but they weren't dumb-played, in my opinion.

I think a demo would help this game tremendously (maybe like the PAX one with the first two stages), as I know with the change some people who didn't like the first game may not give it a shot or those who liked the first game may be D< at changes before playing it.

 

[HamPster PamPster]

Oh crap I forgot to buy it while the free Super Sanctum TD promotion was going on

Anyway, how is Super Sanctum TD?

 

[SAB CA]

You can of course play a demo of this on XBLA, if you have access to it.

I never played Sanctum 1, as I generally don't do PC gaming, so happy to see this on XBLA.

The only negative I have for it personally is that I don't have many friends who'd probably play this... I might just buy for SP however, and try to goad a friend or 2 into it down the line.

I really wish this had Splitscreen... I'd probably have purchased it with no hesitation

For previous Sanctum fans, what should one expect from the DLC? More characters, More stages, new campaigns?

The last PC-friendly XBLA release I purchased was Defense Grid, and personally, even without DLC, that game felt a bit "long in the tooth" to me... the designs and personality of Sanctum seem more up my alley, though.

 

[alazz]

The DLC for Sanctum 1 was mostly map packs, but one DLC had two towers and one weapon, I think. Alternative characters weren't available in it.

There is a tower limit on each map. You get a set amount of blocks for maze building and a small amount of currency between each wave (also there are way less waves in default mode, there is a survival mode as well). The highest tower count i've seen thus far is 10. There are way more maps, most of them are smaller thus far but there are a few bigger ones as well. Most of them have large areas where you can't build mazes at all.


So it's basically 1/3 the TD/maze building of Sanctum 1. And it's hard to claim that shooting is 'more important' in S2 than S1 because both games require you to shoot 99% of the time.


It's a decent enough time, despite being disappointing. But Metal Gear?! here is right, it may have been better served with a palette and character swap and a new name. For anyone who loved the strategy of the first game you will be disappointed with this.

Thanks for the response. I'm not sure how I feel about these changes. Sanctum 1 was the most fun TD game I've played, and hearing that they've diminished the TD mechanics is hugely disappointing.

I'm OKAY waiting on this now, but I'd still like to support the devs (and of course check it out for myself). I'll pick it up in about a week.

 

[SAB CA]

The DLC for Sanctum 1 was mostly map packs, but one DLC had two towers and one weapon, I think. Alternative characters weren't available in it.

Cool, thanks for the info

 

[Plumpman]

7.) I haven't played multiplayer much yet, but I am pretty sure people get different pick-ups. Don't quote me on this.

I can confirm that there is NO resource sharing, and only 1 set of boxes drops down, at least in the first set of levels.

This alone has made me hate this game entirely. Don't get me started on the ridiculous artificial limits of tower building either, ugh!
Is this from the same devs? It almost seems like a joke, the antithesis of why the first sanctum was so fun and I spent MANY hours on that game.

This game is just not fun.

 

[GotchaForce]

I loved OrcsMustDie so I can't wait to try this out.

 

[Caspel]

Sanctum 2 developers implemented a patch to address fan suggestions including the following for the PC version:

Major changes due to player feedback include:

*Tower Cap has been changed to 15
*Tower Resources now drop for all players in a co-op game! (other parts of the game have been re-balanced to accommodate this)
*More tower-bases now drop in earlier waves


Minor changes include:

* Removed welcome messages for other players
* Updated a GameInAGame
* Playing GameInAGame will prevent the player rotation camera
* Towers don't make connections other towers over ledges
* Font won't go haywire if you rebind your keys anymore
* Gatlings shoots slower but do more damage
* A lot of Easter eggs fixed for the client, gotta catch ‘em all!
* Fixed door on Bio Lab

 

[FloatOn]

Sanctum 1 got mad hate in the steam thread the other day. I've enjoyed my time with that one and I plan on getting this some time soon.

A major complaint in the steam thread was the lack of "oomph" in the weapons. Do the weapons in this one pack more punch?

 

[Montague]

Just played the demo, seemed fun. I can't compare it much with the original but the weapons do seem better.

One of my biggest complaints though (if you can call it one), is that the concept art poorly matches up to the character models. It's like the 3D modelers can't render faces; they remind me of Jet Force Gemini characters with how the shadows hang over their faces. It's not a big deal since the game is first person (I mean, you DO see your teammates running around), but it just bothers me.

 

[famousmortimer]

Yeah for some reason she is a heroin addict in game - lol.


The game is a grower. For a while I actually felt like it was getting worse but the last few levels (i must be near the halfway point) have been really fun. The tower limit is masked well by the power of the towers.

I'm not saying it's better for strategy fans than S1, it isn't, but the game is decent. And as an overall package it's pretty robust. I'm 5 hours in and still have a long way to go just to finish the campaign... before i start tackling endless mode.

 

[famousmortimer]

Sanctum 1 got mad hate in the steam thread the other day. I've enjoyed my time with that one and I plan on getting this some time soon.

A major complaint in the steam thread was the lack of "oomph" in the weapons. Do the weapons in this one pack more punch?

At the start of the game... no. But as you unlock better ones, yeah the weapons do have oomph and the gunplay is admittedly much better than S1.

 

[Kuga]

The developers just released another patch for Sanctum 2. Glad that they're listening to feedback.

NEW:

Resource Sharing - Players can now share their resources with other players by injecting their resources into other players, similar to when you upgrade towers. Do this by aiming at another player and hold LMB (tower resources) or RMB (tower bases).
Resources - the amount required to upgrade a tower is now displayed in the upgrade bar.
Resources - no longer drop by the core, players recieve resources directly now.


MAJOR UPDATES:

Towers - are more powerful now; upgrade bonuses at new level thresholds are significantly higher.
Enemies - swarm enemies (Runners, Pups, Snorkers) will come in much larger groups now instead of one at a time to differentiate them more from other enemies and make AoE better against them. Let the gibs, intestines and blood fly!


MINOR FIXES

Resource System - If a player leaves their resources are split among the other players to stay coherent with the new resource system.
Amp Tower - stacking exploit fixed - only the strongest Amp Tower now affects nearby towers. It was getting a bit ridiculous. In light of this fix, leaderboards have been reset. On the bright side however, Amp Tower damage bonus has been increased & upgrade cost lowered.
Enemy Scaling - Fixed scaling when players join/leave games. HP is scaled depending on what wave a player joins/leaves in. Should be more fair now.
Icons - Fixed an oversight where the wrong icons were displayed in the PC version.
Inactivity camera - no longer activates when you have the map enlarged.
Pause Menu - Button for the Sanctum 2 Wiki added (go contribute!)
Overcharge - the speed of overcharging increases the longer you do it.
Save Files - fixed an issue where the game couldn’t detect a save file.
Feat of Strength - Hardcore now applies the recycle penalty in survival.
Minimap - Broken towers are displayed as broken on the minimap.


PERKS

Overcharge - damage 500 -> 600
Plumber Shoes - damage 5000 -> 4000
Phoenix - damage boost 50% -> 25%
Unstable core - damage 750 -> 1000
Against all odds - max bonus 40% -> 50%
Adrenaline rush - speed boost 1% -> 2%, duration 5.5 sec -> 6 sec
Core-Tower Synergy - can no longer decrease the damage of towers when used in combination with the resilient core perk

 

[velociraptor]

Does anyone play this game? I require a co-op partner.

 

[Head of Vengarl]

PSA: Sanctum 2 (and its DLC) is currently 85% off on Steam &#8212; $2.24 for the game and $1.79 for the season pass which includes their 4 major DLC packs that give you a new character, new towers, perks, and weapons. That is an absolute steal and I hope to see some Gaffers playing online because it's a bit lonely! Only saw like 5 people in online co-op lobbies last night. :[

I won this game during the Steam-GAF holiday giveaways and I am really enjoying it. I'm on the last level of the single player campaign (which is insane) but I also play lots of online co-op, where IMO this game shines. Some of the levels are really well made and challenging &#8212; Roadworks and Abandoned Lab were especially tough (but not unfair). The community has been cool so far, some people are very helpful and will show you some great maze builds and tower setups.

*Edit: I just realized this thread is in the gaming community area so barely anyone will see it. I'll make a LttP thread because it deserves more recognition.