Anomaly 2

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 118 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 118
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 118
  3. Negative: 15 out of 118

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  1. Honeybadgers
    May 15, 2013
    7
    Short answer, is it worth your money? If you like tower defense, yes. If you don't, I'd try the dirt cheap (and very good) mobile version first.

    Long answer, it's the first game, with a pithy little story, hilarious voice acting, gorgeous graphics, and nicely polished gameplay over the first. Each unit actually feels useful, the transformations are genuinely good, the maps are    Short answer, is it worth your money? If you like tower defense, yes. If you don't, I'd try the dirt cheap (and very good) mobile version first.

    Long answer, it's the first game, with a pithy little story, hilarious voice acting, gorgeous graphics, and nicely polished gameplay over the first. Each unit actually feels useful, the transformations are genuinely good, the maps are challenging and reward twitch gameplay. The not so good would be that the game can move faster than you can move your character around. More than once I dropped a repair node or decoy to dart back for a powerup, only to have my squad plow into death. the ability to stop your units seems like it would help tremendously. I also just don't feel like it has much replay value. Something needs to be done with regard to multiple game modes and assault types. If you want a tower defense game with huge replay value, defense grid is probably a better choice.

    That said, it was $15 and it entertained me for about as long as an average AAA shooter does these days, so I'd still give it a passing grade.    … Expand
  2. porTesla
    May 16, 2013
    9
    This is a wonderful sequel. Not only does the single-player campaign feel more organic and approachable, with a much more involved tutorial segment, but the voice acting and storyline are both vastly improved. The addition of multiplayer is just garnish, although it is fun.
  3. getrad
    May 24, 2013
    7
    I have edited my review based on an additional 20 hours of gameplay.

    My original score was a 5.4. I don't play and am not interested in multiplayer. The game retains a difficulty and learning curve that is steeper than the original. You might not become proficient until you beat it once. After doing so, you will have learned that the skill of anticipating what is coming and thinking    I have edited my review based on an additional 20 hours of gameplay.

    My original score was a 5.4. I don't play and am not interested in multiplayer.

    The game retains a difficulty and learning curve that is steeper than the original. You might not become proficient until you beat it once. After doing so, you will have learned that the skill of anticipating what is coming and thinking through what skills to use is more important in Anomaly 2 as compared to the original.

    In the first game, my playthrough was on hardcore. It went relatively smoothly. Playing through this game on your first try on hardcore will prove exceedingly difficult. But once you understand how to properly use your arsenal, often changing your arrangement mid-level, it becomes much easier and more fun. I played through on casual, then on professional; which should tell you something about how important it is to know the maps, and optimize your navigation.

    Each unit at your disposal is useful. There is no "one" setup to win. Of course, much of professional difficulty involves "abusing" the range of your cannons and cycling in a circle to snipe pesky towers, it is not as one-sided as the first game where one setup, and one setup is the best for 98% of situations. So, what is challenging at first becomes rewarding over time. This is an improvement.

    A recent patch has addressed the Behemoth issue of firing while turning towards a decoy, which significantly de-cheap-a-fies the gameplay. I have become used to the new front-end layout, although it is not as good as the original.

    Some of the original criticisms still stand about lack of detail, launch bonuses and style, but I am prepared
    to amend my 5.4 to a 7.4. If you have 10 dollars, and go into this game without to many presumptions about how it should play relative to the last game, with some patience you will enjoy yourself in the long run.    … Expand
  4. Dethstar
    Jun 17, 2013
    4
    Made a really bad choice. Linear, and limited this wasnt my type of game to begin with. This was not the game for me. I confess I did not get far into it. I just couldn't bear the boredom.

    It feels like a game from a different era. If you like the genre very specifically then perhaps this is a good example but for me, it just felt old and very dull.

    No bugs.
  5. Dunge
    Jun 6, 2013
    5
    I loved the first game for bringing a new type of gameplay, but this sequel is exactly the same with a 2 slapped at the end. Does not merit a new title, should have been a DLC.
  6. xephnid
    Oct 14, 2013
    5
    Pros: The graphics are even nicer than in the original. Morphing adds some interesting tactical variation. Cutscenes and tutorials are less annoying because they're skippable now.

    Cons: Enemies spawn ridiculously close to you. And when they're dead, they respawn even closer. As a consequence the pace is frantic pretty much all the time. When you hear one of your units asking for help    Pros: The graphics are even nicer than in the original. Morphing adds some interesting tactical variation. Cutscenes and tutorials are less annoying because they're skippable now.

    Cons: Enemies spawn ridiculously close to you. And when they're dead, they respawn even closer. As a consequence the pace is frantic pretty much all the time. When you hear one of your units asking for help and you're not standing next to it, you may savely assume it's dead before you get there. And so you will find yourself restarting at the checkpoint again and again. And that's on normal difficulty. Higher difficulties are not manageable without meta-gaming: You will have to memorize when and where the enemies spawn.    … Expand
  7. angelikmayhem
    Jun 13, 2013
    3
    This game is a failure of genre.

    Anomaly 2 is an attempt to turn the tower-based strategy genre on it's head by putting you in charge of the creeps instead of the towers. The problem is, the creeps in Anomaly 2 are idiots who blindly plow into the teeth of the enemy because they don't know any better. In this game, you are the commander of a group of tanks who don't have any breaks.    This game is a failure of genre.

    Anomaly 2 is an attempt to turn the tower-based strategy genre on it's head by putting you in charge of the creeps instead of the towers. The problem is, the creeps in Anomaly 2 are idiots who blindly plow into the teeth of the enemy because they don't know any better. In this game, you are the commander of a group of tanks who don't have any breaks. It makes no sense.

    The game is saved by it's multiplayer game which, quite frankly, could become something special if enough people got good at the game. It's very chess-like except faster paced.

    In terms of pros, the graphics are gorgeous and most of the levels are well designed. The ability to change paths is both important and fun encouraging you to flex your strategic thinking skills.

    In terms of cons, the entire premise is absurd. I'm a tank commander I've been trained by people not to blindly press forward just because. Why can't they stop? Why can't they regroup? Why can't they, say, line up side-by-side.

    While the game is faithful to the genre and of good quality in both graphics and programming, the game itself is flawed in it's design. For me, this one was a pass.    … Expand
  8. keefbaker
    Oct 13, 2013
    9
    Actually manages to do what the original did but better in every way. I gave the original a 9 which by rights means this should be a 10, but it's not absolutely perfect. It is however head and shoulders over anything else attempting to do similar things with reverse tower defence. In fact... scratch that, nobody else has even used this method of reverse tower defence before anomaly 1.
  9. JimCorbett
    May 29, 2013
    7
    Anomaly 2 is a solid game. It has fantastic graphics, sounds, and the story, for a tower defense (offense) game, is actually relatively interesting. The voice acting is still a bit comical as it was in the original game. Anomaly 2 sought to reinvent their own game with new additions such as morphing units. This effectively makes it easier to manage your units since you have a smallerAnomaly 2 is a solid game. It has fantastic graphics, sounds, and the story, for a tower defense (offense) game, is actually relatively interesting. The voice acting is still a bit comical as it was in the original game. Anomaly 2 sought to reinvent their own game with new additions such as morphing units. This effectively makes it easier to manage your units since you have a smaller number to think about, but each unit morphs into a completely different version. This was definitely a big improvement and I enjoyed it. There is also a host of new enemies, each of which i thought was a great addition, and also two of the commander powers from the previous game have been replaced. I also thought that this was a good change. Unfortunately, where Anomaly 2 falls short is that if offers a smaller and overall less engaging singleplayer experience because it tacked on a multiplayer mode. Most Anomaly fans have no interest in playing this game MP and I am one of them. I did try it and I was underwhelmed. There are only 4 maps, 1 gamemode, and a very limited playerbase. I don't expect the MP in this game to last very long at all so if you want to play it, i suggest finding a friend with the game. Overall Anomaly 2 isn't as great as the original game, hopefully 11bit will stick to SP experiences in the future.… Expand
  10. Odins_Path
    May 21, 2013
    10
    What a great game, Its truly different making such a refreshing title, great game play crystal clear graphics and Intense online player.

    What else could you want
  11. Dobuch66
    May 28, 2013
    9
    This is true sequel for great indiependent series. It's not just big DLC for Warznoe Earth. I'm really sorry that i need to move as new commander, i love old one. Morhping machines is awesome. I feel like in Transformer's movie. I give that game 9/10 only, because multiplayer is not clear, searching is too long and until few days ago there was no tutorial for "Towers" i have beta acess,This is true sequel for great indiependent series. It's not just big DLC for Warznoe Earth. I'm really sorry that i need to move as new commander, i love old one. Morhping machines is awesome. I feel like in Transformer's movie. I give that game 9/10 only, because multiplayer is not clear, searching is too long and until few days ago there was no tutorial for "Towers" i have beta acess, but no matter. I don't play because i can't find anybody who can play on Tower's side. So anyway great game with nice plot, but multiplayer is not so awesome.

    For full review (in Polish): http://1ndieworld.com/anomaly-2-recenzja-2/
    If u wanna watch wideo-review just visit https://www.youtube.com/user/Dobuch66    … Expand
  12. Frast2013X
    Aug 2, 2013
    7
    Dość ciekawy pomysł na strategię. Co prawda twórcy wykorzystali już większość potencjału przy części pierwszej, jednak podeszli do części drugiej jak do naprawienia błędów które popełnili przy jedynce i zachęceniu graczy do zagłębienia się do świata Anomaly raz jeszcze. Polepszona została grafika, pewne elementy strategiczne zostały pozmieniane. Główny motyw Anomaly został ten sam, i w tymDość ciekawy pomysł na strategię. Co prawda twórcy wykorzystali już większość potencjału przy części pierwszej, jednak podeszli do części drugiej jak do naprawienia błędów które popełnili przy jedynce i zachęceniu graczy do zagłębienia się do świata Anomaly raz jeszcze. Polepszona została grafika, pewne elementy strategiczne zostały pozmieniane. Główny motyw Anomaly został ten sam, i w tym jest problem. Osoba oczekująca przy drugiej części większych zmian, zawiedzie się. Gra ciągle jest trudna(teraz nawet trudniejsza), o wiele ciekawiej jest zagrać w grę tower-defense niż odwrotnie. Myślę że 11 bit studios miało duże chęci, jednak wreszcie powinni zostawić tą markę i wziąć się za coś innego. Moja ocena 7/10… Expand
  13. Angelore
    Apr 20, 2014
    8
    This game is pretty good. That's it. If you want to have some fun and try to play TD genre backwards, you should definitely pick it up.
    It is fun, the graphics is very good, it's not FrostBite3, but damn, the FX does the trick, and the game looks gorgeous. There is plenty of room for different play styles, so you are not forced to some mandatory combination of units (to be honest, some    This game is pretty good. That's it. If you want to have some fun and try to play TD genre backwards, you should definitely pick it up.
    It is fun, the graphics is very good, it's not FrostBite3, but damn, the FX does the trick, and the game looks gorgeous. There is plenty of room for different play styles, so you are not forced to some mandatory combination of units (to be honest, some combos are way better than the others, however).    … Expand
  14. dragosbuzz
    Jun 19, 2015
    6
    A lot of people compare the Anomaly 2 with Tower Defence but...Anomaly 2 it is not an anomaly because it is not a Tower defence.There are differences between these two games namely that anomaly 2 is a offensive game and not a defensive game like Tower defence,the graphics are much better and is more fun.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Best PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Aug 1, 2013
    70
    An interesting change of pace for fans - or, on the flipside, it could be just the thing to get you interested. [Aug 2013, p.91]
  2. DarkStation
    Jul 17, 2013
    80
    While there are a few frustrations that keep Anomaly 2 from being truly fantastic, the game’s additions to it’s unique tower offense gameplay makes this a worthwhile sequel.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 9, 2013
    80
    Anomaly 2 is a lot like the original instalment. Still, it's a great game with polished gameplay. There's no reason to think twice before buying it. [Issue#231]
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