Clapfoot Games is working on a new game that mixes gameplay elements from “castle defense” style games with a 3rd person shooter mentality. Taking place in the 1950s, you can play as several characters, each with their own special abilities. Fortified takes the modern shooter, adds in strategy and real-time base defense mechanics in a really nice way. I got to demo the game for about a half hour at Pax Prime with the creators of the game, and really am looking forward to seeing this game on my Xbox One in the future.
There are several characters you can play as, but I played as the space man who had a special ability like a “super” in many games that allowed him to freeze enemies temporarily in place. The other characters also have supers that compliment their skill sets as well. The objective is always to protect your rocket from being destroyed by eliminating all of the baddies in each wave. As you start out, the waves are simple but get progressively harder as you go. Every new level includes different level design and spawn points, and also new and more powerful enemies as well.
The game has a great variety of weapons as well, ranging from freeze rays, shotguns, TNT launchers, and more. On top of that, there is an upgrade system in place that allows you to choose between freeze or burn effects on certain weapons. In addition to your weapons there are also stationary devices you can purchase in-game to help defend your position as you go. Auto turrets, freeze vents and burn vents, and even sniper AI characters can be set in place to help you defend the rocket through each wave. The game features up to 4 player co-op (*edit: only online co-op, not couch co-op*) so you can grab a buddy or two (or three) to take on the waves of space invaders.
Overall the game is very fluid and the controls were great. The firing mechanic in the game is great because it actually forces players to swap between weapons and encourages it with automatic reloading. So when your shotgun is reloading you can swap to your other weapon and essentially if you time it right have a consistent rate of fire across two weapons. This is especially helpful if you have one weapon with a freeze ability and a burn ability. You’ll be able to freeze large groups of enemies in place, and then swap to your other weapon to do actual damage to them while they are frozen in place.
Available on Xbox One and Steam, Fortified has a launch date of Q1 2016 (*edit: originally posted Summer 2015. Sorry everyone! We’ll have to wait a bit longer). With a 4-player co op system it’s a sure hit for multiplayer fans who like team based games with a flare of fun added to them. For more information on Clapfoot, check out their website.
-Written by Andrew (@SoAfterISaid)
