When comparing Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair vs Orcs Must Die 2, the Slant community recommends Orcs Must Die 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best games with third-person shooter mechanics on Steam?” Orcs Must Die 2 is ranked 14th while Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose Orcs Must Die 2 is:
The game requires patience and analysis from the player. You can only use so many traps because the currency is limited, which means you will have to run in and slay orcs yourself. Balancing when to attack and when to sit back is vital to success, and makes for an enjoyable challenge when things get hectic.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Fun theme that does not take itself too serious
Much like a B movie, the game is themed as a low quality experience with dated looking graphics and a convoluted/outrageous story. The premise being, you are one of four playable characters whose job it is to destroy the onslaught of invading alien giant insects. There is little beyond this to be fleshed out, it is more aimed at being mindless fun. Luckily the little bit of story and dialogue you do get in the game often is a bit tongue in cheek, as it the game is often self aware of its role to play.
Pro Endearing pure action gameplay
The premise of the game is to constantly be blasting giant alien insects in a slightly open world environment. Each level starts in a large sandboxed open world arena where alien insects will swarm the area. It is up to the player and the character they choose to use (of which there are four choices, each with their own skills/powers) on how killing these creatures will be carried out. Some of the available weapons for the different characters will be things like hand grenades, rocket launchers and automatic rifles. These weapons will be used in order to kill as many of the alien creatures that you can. Somewhat of a mindless style of play, blasting away anything that moves, but is appealing in its design due to the destruction that can be carried out. Each stage allows for compete destruction of all of its structures, meaning if there are enemies behind a building, you can just destroy the building in order to get to them. Overall the gameplay is quite fun and quirky in its B movie theme and design that allows for a never ending flow of creatures and areas to blast your way through.
Pro Good co-op support
Players can play together locally and online in a cooperative manner, helping each other to defeat giant insect aliens that are attacking the city. The local co-op can be played on different devices (LAN) or even on the same device through split screen. The online multiplayer allows for easy access to friends and random people in order to play together.
Pro Solid PC port
EDF is a pretty good port for PC (originally a PS2 game ported to PS4) with a constant 60fps during gameplay (no matter how many giant insects are on screen) as well as good keyboard and mouse controls with a few PC centric settings to be found in the menus such as anti-aliasing (only on or off). This is all able to be done in full HD (1080p).
Pro Challenging mix of direct and indirect gameplay
The game requires patience and analysis from the player. You can only use so many traps because the currency is limited, which means you will have to run in and slay orcs yourself. Balancing when to attack and when to sit back is vital to success, and makes for an enjoyable challenge when things get hectic.
Pro Fast paced co-op that allows for deep strategies thanks to teamwork and communication
Unlike the first game in the series, Orcs Must Die 2 allows for co-op multiplayer. Two players can team up to kill hordes of orcs, each with their own skills and equipment slots. This not only allows for faster paced action, but also for strategic combat tactics. For this reason, it’s best played with headsets to ensure open communication. Overall, the co-op mode adds a level of fun that was missing from the first title.
Pro Many variables of gameplay that makes for a ton of replayability
The game has many maps, a ranking system, and a wide variety of items that can change each game significantly. These variables create a differentiated experience that doesn’t get stale.
Pro Challenge and longevity for those that want to master the leaderboards
Leaderboards are on offer for those that would like to compete for high scores around the globe. This can be a fun but monumental task, as higher tier weapons will be needed in order to score the combos necessary for a competing high score in any level. Something more in line to the hardcore gamers looking for a challenge, but easily a way for the players to pad out the longevity of the game.
Pro Humorous
The main characters have a great banter with one another that keeps the levels amusing.
Cons
Con Not a ton of polish
While a mainstay of the series (and some would argue the whole point of its design), the polish of the game is a bit rough. Voiced AI is constantly repeated and poorly delivered. There is little story to be found and the graphics, while playing at a constant 60fps in full HD, leave a lot to be desired.
Con May not appeal to everyone
The gameplay can get a bit repetitive and the lack of polish may be a turn off. While there is a good bit of content, many may not want to spend the time with a game they consider cheap looking that has little incentive to play other than mindlessly blasting away giant insect aliens.
Con Gets repetitive over time
Actually since the game is perfection based (meaning you'll want to redo areas for better scoring) and has plenty of included plus DLC maps you can play OMD2 for quite a while and it will seem fresh. The difference in difficulty levels also can refresh the same map since varying levels release different type of enemies.