LD23 – ‘Face The Truth’
You know, I’m quietly confident that a full-scale alien invasion would be a bit of a pain in the neck for us earthlings. There’d we widespread panic, rioting and in-fighting as the fallible race of humanity squabbles over how best to combat a hitherto unknown force. It was perhaps for that reason that you could call Space Invaders the first popular title bordering on what we’ve now come to know as the horror genre – a brand of interactive entertainment arguably best executed when we’re up against insurmountable in the face of an unpredictable enemy.
Employing a more strategic edge to proceedings was Missile Command, an arcade classic in which players utilised their ground resources to fend off growing hordes of looming vessels. As with Space Invaders, it adopted the almost clichéd dynamic of Earth defense, but its conventionalised setting was perhaps as much a result of its technical limitations as it was a consequence of a youthful form of interactive media making its first baby steps into new atmospheric horizons.
That a Norwegian developer named Evgiz has managed to bring those two ideas together in just 48 hours, therefore, is a testament to how far the gaming medium has come since then. Face The Truth, a strategic tower defense-esque game created for Ludum Dare 23, is a surprisingly addictive blend of forward-thinking tactical trickery and a nail-biting drive for survival and, best of all, it’s free to play.
Face The Truth is entirely mouse-controlled, with a small selection of defensive mechanisms and weapons available for selection. Alien spaceships can be obliterated through the deployment of satellites of varying attributable power, but they’re all liable to incur the wrath of the enemy because, simply put, they’re not indestructible.
Adding depth to the equation is the inclusion of an in-game economics system. Each satellite costs money to deploy, whilst solar panels may also be laid down in order to recuperate one’s expenses over a period of time. It’s an intriguing gameplay mechanic that creates an adequate element of tension to the fast-paced action, and you’re likely to find yourself frantically clicking at the bottom of the screen to construct more defenses, not long before cursing your lack of financial foresight as your funds rapidly diminish, along with the population of the planet you’re trying to save, a figure that’s handily monitored at the top of the screen.
The game brings plenty of simple, humorous text-based exchanges between the alien forces and the human leader, most of which keeps skirmishes fresh and entertaining, even if your military efforts are becoming increasingly hectic. These comical interjections, coupled with some relatively minimalistic, yet sufficiently clarity abundant on-screen graphical pop-ups, add a layer of charm to Face The Truth‘s somewhat mundane setting, allowing it to forge its own identity amongst a sea of comparable space battle simulators.
Even though it suffers from occasional instances in lag, not to mention a somewhat repetitive sound design, Face The Truth has the potential to take away a sizeable chunk of your free time with some of the extra polish and attention unavailable within Ludum Dare’s 48-hour time limit. Sure, it’s rough around the edges and a little hard on the eyes at times, but Evgiz has achieved in two days what would once have taken months.
Try out Face The Truth for free by checking out its Ludum Dare entry page.
