3.4 billion orcs have died -- roughly 21 million per day -- since the release of Orcs Must Die! (which we video reviewed here); with orczillions more to slay, Robot Entertainment has brought us new, efficiency-increasing machines to slay orcs with rapidity never before imagined. Yeah, rapidity. You know it's a big deal, now.
Aside from tons of new inventive machinery, we get what we've all wanted since the game's inception: Co-op! With the new crowd-controlling sorceress heroine, you can now venture into the fray with a friend to take the orcs out by droves. Just make sure your friend isn't an orc sympathizer.
Here's what we know so far:
- New Campaign – Orcs Must Die! 2 features a full campaign that you can play in single-player or with a friend in co-op. Choose to play the campaign as the War Mage, a headstrong hero who charges into danger, or play as the more nuanced Sorceress, a new hero who keeps enemies at bay with mind-control and magic.
- More Enemies – An army of vile new creatures is set to pour through the rifts, and they’ve brought all of your favorite trap-fodder from the original Orcs Must Die! along with them!
- More Defenses – Orcs Must Die! 2 has an enormous armory of new and classic defenses, including an all new assortment of magical trinkets. Use your new spellbook to buy defenses and upgrades the way you choose to, building up your arsenal based on how you play the game.
- New Upgrade System – The skull system has been completely redesigned. You will always earn skulls for replaying levels, and the skulls can be spent on multiple persistent upgrades for each of your defenses.
- As a special bonus, players who own the original Orcs Must Die! on PC will unlock exclusive content in the sequel.
Personally, I'm still hoping for a freestyle mode. As I've said since the game's launch, it needs a mode that encourages bizarre trap combinations - no matter how effective - so that we can truly experiment with all that OMD has to offer.
We'll be interviewing Robot Entertainment at PAX East 2012 on Friday, so be sure to check back Friday night for any updates!
There is no Orcs Must Die! 2 release date as of yet, but we'll keep you posted!
-Steve