Savage Moon (PlayStation 3)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.5 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Randolph Ramsay
• Reviewed on: 02/06/2009
• Released on: 01/29/2009
• Originally published on GameSpot: Savage Moon (PlayStation 3) Review

The PlayStation Network game Savage Moon is a good example of how simultaneously addictive and annoying tower-defense games can be. Most of the time, it's fast-paced and challenging, giving you a real sense of achievement as your carefully laid turrets of mass destruction wreak havoc on your insect foes. But like most other games of its ilk, it can also be a frustrating experience in trial and error. Savage Moon won't win any converts to the genre, but it's a mostly fun experience that will stretch your strategy synapses and give you good gaming value.

Savage Moon's setting is pure sci-fi schlock. You're charged with defending mining bases on a series of moons, which are mineral-rich asteroids with their own populations of aggressive insect beasties. Wave after wave of these insect aggressors--which range from small, wormlike slitherers to large bees, gigantic crablike tanks, and more--will crawl, stomp, burrow, and wing their way towards your base, and it's up to you to set up a series of defenses to stop them in their tracks. You'll start off with basic machine-gun turrets, but as you earn more money from squashing bugs, you can research and deploy increasingly powerful weapons.

There's a good amount of strategy to be found here, and it's sure to challenge even the most dedicated tower-defense nuts. Each wave of insects gets progressively tougher, so you'll need to make quick decisions about where to best place your turrets, how to create choke points for the enemy, and decide how to best spend your hard-earned credits on researching and upgrading weapons. Savage Moon's weapons varied arsenal includes laser turrets, mortars, mine deployers, particle cannons, and more. There are also support turrets that can make battles easier. For example, chaos towers will slow down any enemy that comes near them, whereas amp towers will significantly increase the range and damage of any turrets. Each turret can also be upgraded several times, but you'll have to spend money on research to get the maximum improvements. Finally, you can give temporary boosts to your attacking strength, defense, or the rate that you earn cash. However, improving one of these will result in poorer performance in the other two, so you'll have to quickly juggle between the three as the situation requires.

You won't have much time to relax in Savage Moon, so it's a plus that the game's controls are easy to master. Pressing X on the controller will bring up your main options, and it's a simple matter of scrolling through different menus to choose commands. Navigating the map is bit trickier because the game's camera doesn't let you move past the edge of an area. This means that you'll have to rotate your view if you want to place towers at the edges, a situation that will cost you valuable seconds as you frantically set up defenses for the next wave.

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