Review: Infested Planet
Infested Planet is developed by Rocket Bear Games. In this game, you get to take charge of 5 veteran soldiers whose mission is to defeat the alien swarm. Five versus 100,000! Whoops, am I not supposed to tell you the odds?
30 Second Review
+ Deep squad based strategy game
+ Lots of replay value
+ Random map generator that enables you to fight anywhere
– Graphics might be considered a bit basic for some
– Campaign is a bit of a slow burn
Ready to Purge the Alien Menace?
It’s all about killing aliens, baby – a xenocide into the millions! I have discovered I’m a natural born harbinger of terror when it comes to anything alien, and these bugs are super squishy to my delight!
Infested Planet throws many unpredictable challenges your way. Along with procedural generated maps, the aliens will also randomly mutate, adding to the challenge. You will have to keep your wits about you in order to outsmart the alien horde.
There is some brief dialogue in-between missions within Infested Planet, but that’s all there is in terms of story development. This game relies on gameplay and challenging strategies rather than a story to keep the player’s interest. While a deeper story may have been a nice addition, it’s not necessary for what this game is trying to achieve.
Invokes Thoughts of Starship Troopers
Infested Planet gives you that feeling of being in complete control of your units at all times. Advance as a squad, split your squad members up, and micro manage them to the best of your abilities. Change the orientation of any direction your soldiers are firing towards. You will have plenty of weapons at your disposal, such as a rifle, fusion shotgun, rocket launcher, minigun, walking tanks, and grenades. You are going to capture control points, defend points of interest against the alien horde, and eliminate alien nests, all while doing your best to survive the alien scourge.
In addition to campaign and skirmish modes, there is a weekly challenge mode. Even though the gameplay will get somewhat repetitive (after all you are just killing an alien horde), there will be a lot going on to try to keep you interested in Infested Planet as far as challenge goes.
I’m not sure there are any multiplayer plans for the game. I personally would enjoy the inclusion of a co-op mode. I am hopeful that this is something we could see in the future.
The input Infested Planet uses is keyboard and mouse. You can rebind the keys, and that is very much appreciated.
If Only You Could Change the Aliens to Zombies…
Alright, I’m just kidding about changing the aliens to zombies, but you can never go wrong with zombies right? Maybe there will be a zombie sequel?
I did enjoy my time in Infested Planet, however the first hour in the campaign was kind of a slow burn. I really felt like I had to push myself to progress in the campaign, and it just wasn’t working for me. When I switched to skirmish, the game became a lot more enjoyable. My recommendation is to play the campaign for the tutorial, and then when you feel like you’ve got the controls down, go ahead and switch to skirmish.
I do feel that $14.99 is a bit high for what Infested Planet is, and you might want to wait and watch for the price to drop down to around $9.99 or lower. It’s not a bad game by any means, and I did enjoy it. I’m just not convinced the price is right.
Infested Planet scores 6 out of 10.
[starreview tpl=14]
