The latest Double Fine XBLA release brings the humor and innovation they are known for to Tower Defense and Mech Combat games. Set in the 1920’s, the game pits you against waves of Monovisions led by Vlad Farnsworth who is trying to spread the mysterious “Broadcast”. On your side is Commander Frank Woodruff, designer of the Mobile Trench.
The gameplay is easy to pick up but hard to master. Like any tower defense game, you have an objective you must defend from differing types of enemies that come in waves across the level. You have emplacements that you can put down from three different categories: Light, Heavy and Support. And you have your Mobile Trench, which is a big mech. You can customize your Trench by choosing its Legs, Chassis and Paint. The leg options offer different benefits and you will quickly find the one that works best for you. The Chassis is similar, but the benefits/drawbacks are more pronounced as it effects emplacement options and each Chassis has different weapon hard points, some as little as one on each side and others with the max three on each side. Weapons come in a few different varieties, which are mostly cut and dried. You have your Machine Guns, Shotguns, Sniper Cannons, Grenade Launchers, Artillery Cannons and Broadcasters. There are plenty of options in each category, and as you progress in the game and start earning the upper tiers of powerful weapons you will likely find yourself chuckling at the names, such as the DI-574 “Harry” Shotgun, the H-NS “Velocityraptor” or “Mr. Pancakes”.
You play as one of four Trench Marines, each with their own personality. You can further distinguish yourself by changing your Marines shirt and hat. Options range from a tiki mask to a top hat, a regimental coat to a spec ‘ops shirt strapped with tons of dynamite. One of the games achievements, ‘Razputin’ pays homage to Double Fines older title, Psychonauts, and asks you to complete a mission in the uniform of an Elite PSI agent. It is a good look, that is for sure.
Once you have your Mobile Trench Unit all kitted out you embark on your missions to end the Monovision threat, running around the battlefield dropping turrets, killing Mono scum and picking up scrap to buy more turrets. Your Trench Marine will often spout funny quips when making kills or standing around. During the course of missions, a flying set of TVs provide the face and voice of Farnsworth to talk to you and Commander Woodruff, thus furthering the story. The whole presentation is chock full of humor and wit, which is unsurprising of a Double Fine game. Graphically the game is done well, in a very unique style that fits within the timeframe and humor of the game. It definitely presents the feeling of the 1920’s in a comedic noir style.
The controls are simple and responsive, and won’t force you to bend your fingers in unnatural ways to do simple tasks. Within the game there are a set of challenges for you and your regiment to pursue. The Personal and Regiment lists are the same, the only difference is the quantity of the task needed to complete it, as well as the rewards. They are straight forward, merely kill ‘x’ enemies with the various weapon types, or emplacements, or complete missions or collect scrap. Your Regiment is a list of your 9 most recent players in multiplayer. As for the multiplayer, it offers up to 4 player co-op play across any of the story levels, which will allow for different loadouts for people wanting to screw around. It can be a bit laggy at times but other than that it is pleasantly fun. I would like to see a “Swarm” mode as well as an “Endless” mode. With those two options, and perhaps some sort of level creator I could see myself still playing this game a few years from now. As it stand, I am still enjoying the game with 50+ missions completed and more to come.
When all is said and done, Trenched is a masterfully crafted game from a proven company. At 1200 MSP it is a good buy, and one I would gladly recommend to anyone. Even if you don’t like mech games, this is worth a look. See you in the trenches marine.
