The Sentinel series of games are like royalty among Tower Defence games, so it’s a bit of an event when a new one comes along. Â Can Sentinel 4 continue to provide the same quality alien shooting?Â
From the first look at the new improved menu system it’s clear that Origin 8 have given the latest game in the series more than a little polish. Â This goes for the upgrade paths, too, with a much clearer set of upgrade paths for turrets, items to help you out and strenthen your main character’s armour and weaponary.
The story continues from where Sentinel 3 left off, having destroyed the aliens on their homeworld, a surprise appearance from a large enemy disappearing through a wormhole leads to a brand new adventure in another universe.
This brings its own set of extras, with aliens helping you in your quest, but Sentinel 4 is mostly happy with a collection of features from the series past. Â With repair and attack drones that can be bought and recharged in-game, little robots that return to block paths and attack enemies and a large number of upgrades for each tower it feels like a ‘greatest hits’ of Sentinel games. Â That’s no bad thing, of course.
The difficulty is spot on again, with the return of the 4 difficulty modes, though later levels are tough even on the easiest mode without a proper set of considered upgrades. Â This adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.
Graphics are polished as well, the best they’ve ever looked. Â There isn’t that much you can really do with a classic Tower Defence, but these alien worlds and the characters in them are certainly well designed.
So while Sentinel 4: Dark Star isn’t a reinvention of the Tower Defence genre or of its own series, it’s the strongest Sentinel game yet and should satisfy any fan of the genre.
Sentinel 4: Dark Star
Pros
- Great graphics
- New modes to take personal control
- Varied scenery
