Defenders of Ardania PC
Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 17
  3. Negative: 5 out of 17
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  1. 4Players.de
    Mar 23, 2012
    46
    Despite nice visuals Defenders of Ardania has no chance of competing with games like Defense Grid, Sol Survivor or Anomaly. The balancing is below par, you hardly need any tactics and the interface is just poor.
  2. Worth Playing
    Aug 20, 2012
    45
    In the end, only certain elements of Defenders of Ardania work well.
  3. IGN
    Mar 19, 2012
    45
    There's something to be said for slow-burn strategy games that require precise tweaks and purchases to gain the edge in battle. Unfortunately, Defenders of Ardania lacks these nuances and insists on wasting the player's time with needless limitations and wave after wave of opposing forces that result in an ongoing stalemate.
  4. Armchair Empire
    Apr 27, 2012
    40
    With plenty of other tower defense titles and strategy games out there, Defenders of Ardania is a poor choice on which to spend your money.
  5. Games.cz
    Apr 2, 2012
    40
    A badly designed game with flaws that br(e)akes its multiplayer dramatically. You know, being unconventional and not able to write a proper game code doesn't pay off sometimes.

User Reviews

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User Score
4.8 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 6 out of 8
  1. AndreaGriffin
    5
    This game comes to you from the land of Ardania, the setting of the game Majesty and its sequel Majesty II. You'll recognize the voice acting.

    Gameplay-wise, the game plays very much like other Tower Defense games: You build towers along a grid, trying to stop the bad guys from reaching your fortress. Unlike most other TD games, however, you also go on the offensive: You build your own waves of critters and send them back through the map toward the other guy.

    While this is nice in theory and could make for a fantastic game, it just wasn't executed particularly well. You're susceptible to "zerg rush" tactics in multiplayer, the unit selection feels tactically unimportant (you'll use the same few units constantly), and the standard campaign doesn't have enough interesting challenges for an experienced TD player (although there are some challenge modes). An experienced Tower Defense gamer can expect 6-8 hours from the campaign. It's quite easy.

    One disappointment in particular is that you don't seem to be able to play the other 2 races/factions in campaign mode, which would go a long way to adding replayability to the very short campaign.

    Even after a patch applied the day after the release, the controls feel sluggish and unresponsive (although the patch fixed the most glaring errors). Graphically the game is nice and the sound is appropriate.

    Even the multiplayer experience has some issues. You cannot type messages to other players, everyone is booted back to the main menu once a game is over instead of returning to a lobby, and the AI always gangs up on Player 1 from the very beginning, never changing tactics or trying to surprise other players. Still, there IS an AI to play against, and in a game where tactical decisions need to be made it's interesting and welcome to have an AI at all.

    Game modes include free-for-all, 2v2, and 2v2 survival. The AI can be used in any of the modes. So, for your friends that can't handle playing against another player lest they (gasp) lose, there's options for their tender feelings.

    I don't know if there is a technical issue, but I was unable to find any open multiplayer games online. I was only able to get people into my game by inviting them directly via Steam.


    If you're a fan of TD games then Defenders of Ardania should be in your library; if you only have a passing interest in the genre, you may want to consider alternatives.    … Full Review »
  2. Dethstar
    2
    A below average game. Someone has cynically created a game to jump on the tower defence bandwagon knowing that this alone may sell it. However, it is just plane boring, dull and limited with limited control and precious little to recommend it. I want to balance this out with some positive to say about it and all I can think of is that its quite pretty.… Full Review »
  3. AngleWyrm
    4
    The graphics are nice, and the idea of sending your own forces against the attackers is original. But the troops move at different speeds, making coordination a problem that does not resemble a feature more than an unnecessary frustration. And the tutorial avatar is like an unskippable cut scene, boorishly taking over the game to grand-stand on his soap box to a captive audience, before allowing permission to access some locked game feature.… Full Review »
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