a friend wrote this up for our site at www.knowngriefers.com . Hope you enjoy. He really loved the first OMD! link to original: http://www.knowngriefers.com/2012/04/orcs-must-die-2-hands-on-first.html#more

Rock absolutely loved the first Orcs Must Die!, so he was definitely excited to get the chance the play the sequel at PAX East 2012!

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Orcs Must Die!. In my review, I raved about how much I loved the game seamlessly blended third person action, tower defense, and some of the most deliciously deadly trap-laying action I'd ever seen. Imagine my excitement when I learned that Robot Entertainment were working on a sequel, and not only that, but that said sequel would be playable at PAX East! Aw yeah!

Many orcs were slaughtered that day...

The team at Robot have made so many additions to them game, it's astounding. The first thing that I noticed about Orcs Must Die! 2 was what a leap ahead the level design had taken. In the level that I played, it was clear that the developers had made some big changes. First, they tried to include some more open areas, keeping things from being too claustrophobic. Another interesting addition was a series of tracks that ran through the level, on which a mine cart cruises around the level, acting as a mobile hazard for the orcs. Possibly the biggest addition is the inclusion of a new character, the Sorceress. Focusing more on magic than on physical attacks, this new character brings a most welcome new feature- co-op play! Fuck yes!

Fancy Rock loves what he's seen of OMD2 so far!

One of my few gripes with the game was the inclusion of the Weavers. Basically, these forced you to choose perks that would effect either your traps OR your magic, you had to choose one or the other. Worse still, upgrades bought from the weavers used the same gold that was used to buy traps. Even worse, all upgrades were reset after every level, effectively eliminating a sense of character progression. Well, I'm glad to say that the Weavers have been discarded completely! The team at Robot seem to have taken feedback to heart, and got rid of the Weavers in favor of more character-based progression. Woo!

I'm very satisfied with my hands on session, and I can't wait to play to full game when it comes out this Summer!