Sanctum was originally released as a tech demonstration for the “Make Something Unreal” competition to show of the Unreal Development Kit. In that prototype of the game (which we looked at here), each wave was pre-defined and a player could quickly learn the strategies necessary to defeat them, and the order in which to build. The full version of Sanctum flips that on its head: each wave is composed of randomly generated enemies, so you’ll need to take the time to study the incoming wave during the build phase to make sure you’re not going to get trounced. Helpfully, you can press escape during the build phase to bring up a little schematic of each enemy, detailing their strengths and weaknesses - something you’ll need to do, as Sanctum now incorporates easily twice as many different types of creatures as before, all with unique abilities.
Steam has announced that the tower defense/FPS hybrid Sanctum and its sequel Sanctum 2 will be free from now til next Sunday.
Hardcore Gamer: The latest Indie Jam bundle has been released, and the third installment gives you a lot of value for $5. That meager amount gets you Sanctum, ARES (a must for Mega Man fans), Joint Task Force, Nexus - The Jupiter Incident, Commandoes 3: Destination Berlin, Two Worlds: Epic Edition, Garshasp: Temple of the Dragon, and Battlepaths.
AWESOMEoutof10's Donnie McLohon discusses the importance of perspective in gaming and how experimenting with different views can provide new experiences for players.
"I’ve come to acquire certain tastes and preferences about the games I play over a lifetime of gaming. The simple fact is that there are some things I favor over others — and perhaps always will. Many gamers are fiercely competitive and hone their skills playing online shooters; others might prefer more individual experiences and settle for a compelling story-driven game. Though it’s true what they say, variety is indeed the spice of life, I believe there’s something significant about our selective nature. And, as a recent epiphany I had playing a particular game has shown me, one of those supposedly minor predilections has a surprisingly vast amount of possibilities to explore. I’m talking about perspective."
