Title: System Protocol One
Publisher: While True Fork
Developer: While True Fork
Release Date: December 7, 2010
Platform(s): PC, Steam
Player(s): 1
MSRP: $9.99
Genre(s): Strategy (Tower Defense), Indie
ESRB Rating: RP - Rating Pending
Tower defense is that subset of strategy games that has found its way into the hearts of many gamers and for good reason. Though not as complicated as your Civilization V’s or StarCraft II’s, they still require a lot of skill and can be just as fun and just as brutal. While True Fork’s System Protocol One is one such title that has all those aforementioned attributes plus its own personality. Read on to see what I’m talking about.
Let me get this out of the way first: I absolutely loved the music. As a fan of electronica, techno, house, etc. I loved the heavy bass and rhythmic music that pumps while my towers kill waves of enemies. The score may not be as complex as stuff you’d hear on fully produced albums but it’s still good in its own right.
There’s no story, just a setting. You play as a System Administrator that must guard important data from hackers trying to steal them. There isn’t much of a guiding narrative besides what’s found in the useful tutorial at the start but I got to say what you do read is hilarious. For some reason the fictional Admins abhor their accounting department which makes me wonder about the dev’s relationship with their own group of number-crunchers. This normally invisible battle is made manifest as waves of multi-colored viruses streaming toward a server on one side of a grid while the Admin places towers to eliminate them. There’s a wide variety of enemies that range from slow, hard to kill viruses all the way to speedy jet plane-looking ones that can be killed easily. Of note are background processes which are tricky to fight off because only certain towers can detect and attack them: a smart addition to the roster. Bosses also come into play but they’re just physically bigger versions of their counterparts and take a lot more damage. Viruses are easy to identify due to the bright colors and distinctive shapes of each one and you’ll soon find out which to dread when they come in hordes.
The level design is clever and downright devious at times. Initial stages are flat grids that are straightforward and have enemies spawn from a single infected node. But as you progress more and more the levels change drastically. Sometimes you’ll have to defend several servers at once on a fully rotatable 3D cube; or on two areas that aren’t connected but you have to switch back and forth between them in order to keep the little buggers off your back; and other diabolical levels. Many of these stages have corrupted grids that players aren’t allowed to use but the viruses can move freely through so be sure to keep these in mind when planning your defense.
Players have access to towers that block off areas, cheap towers that can shoot one at a time or several targets at once, as well as powerful defenses like a laser-shooting satellite and many more. There’s even a countermeasure that captures a virus and damages it over a set period of time and by doing so it can upgrade itself the more it kills. If you reach the limit of how many you can throw down, there’s a tower that’ll allow you to place more down which is a nice addition. Of course you can upgrade the majority of your towers that will increase attack speed/power as well as detection range and other aspects. There are no surprises in the tools you’ve been given so anyone who’s ever played tower defense before can pick it up quickly. In light of this it’s easy to fall into the habit of using only a handful of towers so if you want to heighten the fun factor try using them all when you can.
Like I said earlier I adored the music but here's my problem with it. After a while the combination of constant looping and lack of variety wears down the music’s charm. If there were more distinctive tracks I could listen to it all day, but there isn’t enough there to justify having to listen to the same tunes over and over again. What’s there is gold, but like any other songs they can easily be played out.
I’ve always had a great respect for indie titles because they represent the sort of wild frontier that’s untouched and holds a great deal of creative freedom, charm, and plain fun. I’m happy to announce System Protocol One has all those in spades. Despite lack of musical variety this is one standout tower defense game that shouldn’t be overlooked by fans of the genre. Want to be challenged? Get this game. Want to have a good time? Get this game. From a ratings scale of worst to best: Ugh, Mediocre/Okay, Good, Great, & Excellent; this game is Excellent.
Comments