Road Defense: Outsiders is an isometric tower defence/twin stick shooter set in a post apocalypse world. Your aim is to protect your convoy of vehicles from waves of stick-like adversaries. To survive the hoard the player must manage their turrets, resources and defences whilst at the same time engaging in direct conflict.

Protect your convoy of vehicles from waves of stick-like adversaries

To aid you in this mission you initially come equipped with a pistol and an axe. Equipment can be upgraded, and this is vital in the rouge-like gameplay. Overall, you get a nice combination of both passive (barriers, mines) and active defences. Surviving each wave will take some little strategic thinking and quick reflexes.

Combat on an isometric plane can become somewhat confusing. In the heat of battle the arena and the stick thin enemies can produce quite a mess and with no auto aim, you’re going to be spending a lot of time running around trying to kill stuff when you’re not quite sure if its an enemy or not. You do get the advantage of being able to use your vehicles in combat and these can be upgraded to pack a real punch.

Equipment can be upgraded, and this is vital in the rouge-like gameplay

As you progress, the strategy becomes vital. What load out will you place in your vehicles and what will you carry yourself. This should be more fun than it is. In truth on any given level you're either strong enough to win or you're toast. There is something a little unsatisfactory about a game which is basically a grind fest just to get you strong enough to progress to the next level.

The enemy types range from simple drones to heavily armoured tanks, each requiring different tactics to defeat. Some enemies might be vulnerable to certain types of weapons or defences, encouraging players to experiment with their loadouts and adapt to the ever-evolving threats.

Combat on an isometric plane can become somewhat confusing

Graphically its reminiscent of a Gameboy game. The layout is presented in various shades of grey. One of the better aspects of the game is the music score, which does a lot for getting the adrenaline going and covering the meager offering from the games graphic style.

Like any roguelike game there is replayability, but only if grinding for better weapons is something you enjoy. The game's biggest weakness is that you will inevitably win each of the nine levels, if you just save your money and invest in upgrades, making the game feel light on strategy and heavy on just investing time.

5

Charles Packer