Defense Grid 2

I... Love... This... Game!
Differences with DG1: which is better?
Most people prefer DG1 over DG2 for a couple of reasons:
- scoring in DG1 is a lot more straightforward
- runs alot better (albeit also lower quality)
- was way more community driven (more on that later)
- the game modes are alot more straightforward
I am one of the very few who regards DG2 as the best TD ever. It's partly a sentimental thing, I started playing these games after DG2 released, and at that moment there was a group that competed in a weekly challenge. That sense of competition lifts a game so very high. It saddens me to say that the community is only a handful of people, which just keep on going making maps. The community for DG1 is slightly bigger.
What I like in DG2 is that complicated scoring system. It's way more consistent than it's predecessor, but it's a lot less fun the way you receive resources. In DG1 it was rewarded for killing aliens and by interest, while DG2 uses time (you receive 10 units every couple of seconds) and wave killing bonuses. It becomes very complicated when to kill what alien to optimise the scores, however it's very consistent. If you play exactly the same way you get the same results every time. In DG1 this is not the case, mainly because slowing doesn't work 100% of the time, and for the best results you need certain aliens not to be affected, every run is slightly different. For DG2 I'm talking about non-selling runs, because selling ('juggling') can give you an infinite score. Oh, you need some friends their scores as reference, because the scoreboards are littered with cheaters, ugh... Or play community maps.
What I also prefer is the towers effectiveness, there is a lot more diversity in what tower is best in what situation. Only the inferno and the tesla are always bad.
Desertion of the Devs
The launch of this game was very anti-community, which doesn't work well on a community driven game... First they held a kickstarter, and instead of making DG2, they created a DLC for DG1. Then later they acquired a magical funds supplier, but released this game with a paywall on community created maps... I can't even find words to paint how stupid this is! This was way before Bethesda tried to bill mods, which annihilated the community's goodwill. Well, same happened with DG2. I believe this game required the same sales as it's predecessor, and it ended up about half that. For this genre the numbers for this game are solid, and this game is set up to provide plenty of DLC's and community map packs, but the plug is pulled... And that makes me so darn sad!!! The devs were very talented, ambitious, and in my eyes they delivered a superb game! If only they were given more time to optimise the game, provide more content and purge the scoreboards. I am certain the 'shitty decisions' came from different people. Nowadays the devs work on VR demo stuff, maybe to cover old bills?
Nowadays big companies like Microsoft are buying many many indie companies. The gamers world really needs a good new TD! That's also a reason why I am writing this review. These devs are talented, and it would be nice to have these series reinvigorated! There are a lot of people who would welcome that!!!
My sentimental score:
95/100
My more objective score:
87/100

Best tower defense game there is. I've bought a bunch but this is the one I play. And some of the players make newfree maps. There must be 200 free maps at DG2freemaps.com Another good thing about this game is that if u want to change something u did 3 missions back - no problem - just press the back button for each mission u want to go back. I hate games u have to start over if u want to change ur strategy. This game is very easy to learn. Not too hard to get a gold medal - unless u play in Hard or Elite mode - then good luck :-). Fun game! I played the previous version and wish Hidden Path would support new maps for that as they do in DG2.

Defense Grid 2, much like it's predecessor, is a tower defence game, pure and simply. And just like the predecessor, which was a true classic of the genre, this is too. Maybe even slightly better.
It doesn't do anything too groundbreaking or different (like, say, the Bloons series does) but that's no bad thing, because it does what it says on the tin and it does it VERY well.
The game playfields take the gridded squares form, where you can plonk your towers down to form the inevitable circuitous routes to impede the enemies. The enemies are trying to get to the other end of the playfield where your power cores are stored (lives, if you will) - they will attempt to steal them and then bring them back to the exit. The usual tactics apply - lengthen their route with planning, chip away at them and make the odd killzone where you can really pile on the destruction.
Towers are varied enough (there's 9) which fulfil the roles of DPS, slow shooting but high damage, energy, fire, and a few area of effect ones. There's also blocks to place down to make your pathway too, and you can use them to place towers upon, which will allow for additional upgrades to be applied to the tower itself. Judicious use of these upgrades will mean that cloaked aliens can't hide and you can boost your score if the aliens die in the towers' area of effect. This is essential if going for the gold medal awards on each stage (and the achievements).
The campaign is serviceable, and just the right length (you can fly through it in 3 hours easily if you wish). But there is plenty of replayability as each level has it's own share of challenges to be replayed upon them. My personal favourites are the "grinder" and "super grinder" challenges - 100 waves of enemies which mean you truly get to test your designs across a larger spread of the map.
The storyline is amusing and well voiced, so no problems there. Again, it is not exceptional by any means, but it does what it does and does it very well. Polish is probably the most appropriate adjective here. It is well polished. The balance of play is very nicely designed. You never get any of the problems that come from either poor design or testing - namely you won't come across a level that is suddenly too difficult and everything falls apart in a few seconds. The difficulty increases just by the right amount on each level. If you do get overwhelmed, it will be because of a mistake you made, and not some cheap gimmick of the game. Better yet, if you do find yourself getting so far into a level and mess up, Backspace gives you an instant jump back to the previous wave - this is an excellent little touch, especially welcomed when you are playing those levels over again, and trying out the challenges.
So all in all this is a straight up tower defense games which is extremely well designed, and while quite a short campaign initially, is one of the absolute examples of this genre. An easy top 5 in the tower defence genre. If you like tower defence at all, this game is a must. If you have a passing interest in tower defence only, then I'd still recommend it because it's so well designed and does not overstay it's welcome.
Thoroughly recommended - a real treat.

Just as addictive as the first. Saw a couple reviews in there saying you could not path. Guess they didn't know how to.
I'm not a fan of the storyline, but then again its a tower game...so who cares lol.

Slightly extending upon its predecessor, although the core gameplay remains exactly the same. A couple new features that make it somewhat different, but can't quite catch the atmosphere and charm of the first game of the series. Also, fewer levels make for a shorter play-through if you're not interested in repeating the exact same levels with dozens of slightly different modes.
Not a letdown, but definitely not a better game than the original. Worth it if you liked the first one or get it on sale.

Beautiful game. Still a great campaign. Wonderful dialogue.

Like most people, I like DG 1 more, but once you've gotten every achievement and you're looking to fill that Defense Grid shaped hole in your heart, this is the place to go. Sure it has its issues and it's not as cohesive, but it is still damn good and way better than 99% of the tower defenses out there.