Cubemen

Nice

14 years later it's still peak

I grabbed a two-pack of licenses while the game was on sale a few years ago, as my brother and I live across the country from each other and wanted a few more games in common in our libraries to play together. Honestly, I'd have paid the full $6 for the two-pack. For a basic tower defense game, this is pretty good. There's not really a story, so I'll look at graphics, gameplay and sound. The game has several modes and modifiers for each of those modes. There's a basic tower defense mode, a skirmish mode and a mayhem mode. To date, I have limited experience with the skirmish and mayhem modes, as the online multiplayer is essentially dead (my guess is everyone moved to Cubemen 2). The only time I get to play online these days is when my brother is actually online. Single-player tower defense is a blast, though. There's a wide array of maps, with user-created maps available for download. You can customize player/team colors, views (top down or 3D), and play speed. They give you a decent selection of troops. At the end of each round, you're graded with a complete breakdown of what happened and awarded a medal indicating how you did--bronze, silver, gold and platinum. (Gameplay 3/5) Graphics are pretty basic. You're cubes. You're collecting cubes. Maps range from somewhat interesting to downright boring, and it's honestly sometimes difficult to tell your units apart. Fortunately, though, the lack of sophistication in graphics means the game will run on a coffee maker! (1/5) Hands down, the best part of the game is the soundscape. Sound effects are interesting, the music is amazing, and you always know what's going on based on what you hear. The soundtrack alone is worth picking the game up around the 50% off mark. (5/5) The main downside is the achievements may be difficult to 100% without boosting. At $3 a license, though, it shouldn't be too difficult to grab a few copies for friends and organize a game night. (3/5)