Developer: Robot Entertainment
Genre: Action / Tower defense
Mode: Single-player / Co-op
Release year: 2012

☺Ability to play with a friend is just so much fun
☺A lot of new maps with new environments
☺Even more traps, weapons, spells, enemies, and more!
☺Survival mode and every week new 'weekly challenges'!
☺The humor still holds up
☺A huge replayability

☹Graphics still haven't really changed
☹Feels more like an expansion than a whole new game
☹Levels are not that fun to play in single player as they're clearly designed for two people

Personal Rating: "Worth playing"
Traditional Rating: 8/10

"I think it's fair to say that this game is better than its predecessor almost in every possible way. Get it now!"

Hmmm....Where to start. This game is so simple and easy to play. I love how I can just pick it up for a quick round anytime or spend a few hours. Co op is great and alot of fun with the right person. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants a good Defense game. Nothing like building a giant killroom and watching hundreds of orcs get torn to shreds.

Awesome combination of action and tower defence gameplay. Highly recommended.

A highly addictive tower defense game (or more like trap defense game) that - this time - puts a lot of emphasis on cooperative gameplay. Now, our protagonist guy gains a lady assistant in the form of a sorceress. The two battle orcs together, but - of course - the game can be completed just by picking one of the two characters.

A new game mode appears which gives us endless waves - if you thought the story mode was not difficult enough than this is for you. Oh, the name of the mode is endless waves, naturally! Other than that the concept of the sequel remains the same - but now more traps, more enemies and more upgrades to the weapons and traps. This is the usual formula a sequel should follow and as Orc Must Die is an indie game it is commendable.

If you own the first episode you get extra levels in the sequel so it's best to look for a discount and purchase them in one pack. Long-lasting gaming experience and good riddance to thousands of orcs are guaranteed!

Very nice game!

Similar to their first game, you control as one of 2 characters, laying traps and fighting orcs to defend your base. The 2 characters have very little but noticable difference in starting setup.

All the traps and weapons have different effect and usage, and there are many ways of completing each stages using different approach. You can invest heavily on weapons and trinkets so you can kill the orcs yourself, or you can spend your upgrades on traps and let them do the job for you.

Coop WILL make a lot of stages so much easier because you will have 2 more extra total slots to start with (6 slots each instead of 10 slots solo), double the attention from players, and double the amount of upgrades you can use! Even the hardest game mode is a piece of cake if both players have enough skulls to upgrade their traps.

You can refund your upgrades infinitely, so you can plan your upgrades every wave. I only wish that the upgrades can be done BEFORE the stage start instead of after the stage end.

The story/plot is unimportant nor adds any value to the gameplay, but it has some funny conversation on the beginning of every stages. This makes me look forward to starting the next stage on my first playthrough.

To complete 100% achievement, you will need 2 things: the first game Orcs Must Die (for the Classic mode DLC), and a coop buddy. If you meet the requirement, all the achievements are quite doable.

One thing I'd like this game to have is a way to save progress on co-op game. My personal experience, the game crashed on me on wave 39 of the endless mode coop, wasted almost 90 minutes of our time. Another time, my friend got disconnected from the internet for about 30 seconds and we lost 42 waves of endless mode time. Because of this, we don't really play endless mode online anymore because of the fear for the risk.

My score: 9/10

Nice game to play, easy when you start, but harder when you near the end. All the weapons are good balanced, no overpowered weapons. Sometimes when your playing you hear a charater saying something about a weapon or trap, most of the time something funny. I really like this game, funny and easy gameplay. You can't be serious playing, you are most of the time trying something stupid, also when you are playing with someone else.

If it moves, kill it!

Orcs must Die 2 is the sequel that fans of the first game (which I also recommend that you play first) were waiting for. It keeps all of the fun aspects of the previous game while adding plenty of new things as well as addressing the criticisms of the original, the largest of which was lack of multiplayer. The game now has full Co-Op, as well as a new character in the form of the Sorceress. The game adds new levels new enemies, and an arsenal of new weapons and traps to massacre the hordes of orcs with, all while keeping the theme of the original, including the FANTASTIC soundtrack. I would say this feels more like an expansion pack than a sequel, but then you also have to take into account that both this game and the original were very cheap in price on release, and both have been on sale countless times since then. A great deal of fun, and if you like the idea of slaughtering huge hordes of orcs with hilarious trap combinations, you NEED to buy this game.

Challenging and very entertaining. Great co op fun.

Been playing this game hard for two days! Cant get enough right now. Im sure at some point there is the burnout factor. Must play a co-op with a friend, it makes all the difference.

The best third person tower defense on steam. Quality game well worth the price of purchase.

This is a long review so if you just want a brief summary of why I recommend Orcs Must Die! 2 then skip to Results and read from there.

Robot Entertainment makes a fantastic addition to their brilliant tower defense game. Orcs Must Die! 2 adds new elements of gameplay to the tower defense genre by mixing FPS, TD, and RPG games.

Story:
The War Mage has seals the final rift taking magic away from the world, but forever protecting it from the orcs continually onslaught. The world begins to crumble as magic no longer influences the weather i, sickness, and food. People are realizing the harsh world that they inhabit as magic is taken away. The Sorceress no longer has the ability to control the hordes of orcs, as her magic is gone and she has not long to live before they finally dispose of her. But The Master with his last fleeting breath hopes to give the kingdom one last chance opens a rift bringing back The Sorceress. The Master hopes The Sorceress will learn from her mistake and join The War Mage to restore the Order and bring back magic to the world again.

Campaign:
Orc Must Die! 2 offers two acts, the first consist of seven levels and the second of eight. They start out with each level only being a few waves, and then gradually increasing till you get to the last level which is about twelve waves. Similar to the original you cannot save half way into a level, meaning you need to make sure you have the time available to beat a level before you start it. The game also offers Endless Mode, which includes a variety of levels, some seen in the campaign and others that are unique. Endless mode allows you to obtain skulls (the currency used to buy upgrades) while at the same time getting to practice strategies. The campaign is played similar to the first one where you must place towers to defend rifts from being attacked, but incorporates more RPG elements. If you own Orcs Must Die! the original, you will also be given ten special levels in classic mode. Classic mode essentially is the best parts of the original campaign that can be played co-op and with the new features. This also allows you to earn more skulls and develop your character.

Gameplay:
Orcs Must Die! 2 allows you to play as one of two characters: The Sorceress and The War Mage. The War Mage has higher health while The Sorceress offers more mana. As such one is focused more around using melee and non-magic weapons and the other is based more on magic and spell-casting. This allows you to change how you will play right from the start of the campaign. Unlike Orcs Must Die! you can no longer upgrade your character with coins through the weavers. Instead you buy trinkets using skulls that offer your character passive abilities, upgrade your towers with skulls and unlock unique abilities for the towers, and upgrade weapons with skulls. Each level allows you to get five skulls, plus any additional bonus skulls you pick up as result of enemy drops. This gameplay is focused much more on RPG style gameplay and beating the campaign on War Mage with 5 skulls for every level is near impossible if you don’t grind yourself up in Endless Mode.

Multiplayer:
Orcs Must Die! 2 offers multiplayer, finally you can play co-op as one player is The Sorceress and the other is The War Mage. I personally never played multiplayer, but its nearly self-explanatory that this adds all new elements to the game. A lot of the levels seem as though they are designed for two players, requiring you to essentially run from one side of the map to the other during waves. Adding multiplayer takes Orcs Must Die! and combines it with Sanctum taking the best from both worlds.

Fire and Water:
The first DLC pack for Orcs Must Die! 2. The levels include new levels (Traffic Jammed, Double Decker, and The West Wing), new enemies (Fire and Water Lords), and new traps (Web Spinner, Dart Spitters, and Floor Portal). Double Decker is one of my favorite levels; it is a two pathed level where you get to use minecarts to stop your foes. The new enemies Fire and Water Lords offer all new challenges, if you don’t kill them quick enough they evolve. They can evolve two times starting at Firelings and becoming Fire Lords. The Fire Lords are similar to Ogres and have a lot of health while the Firelings are like Orcs. I personally liked the Dart Spitters came in handy on levels where I wanted to concentrate traps, but ran out of space.

Family Ties:
This DLC further expands Orc Must Die! 2 offering loads of new content: three new levels, two new weapons, a new trinket, and even some new enemies. The levels include: Rush Hour, Breakneck Triad, and Triple Threat. The new levels are really well designed and can be played easily solo or with a group. One of the new weapons, Stone Staff, was actually my favorite weapon as it allows you to essentially freeze enemies then do increased damage to them. The Hobgoblin Healer is a very good addition and requires you to focus your strategy differently as they can cause a simple attach to be very difficult. The Ball and Chain is essentially just a stronger Ogre. Overall this is a great addition to the game, and the new weapon in my opinion is the best in the game.

Are We There Yeti?:
This is another exciting DLC pack offered with Orcs Must Die! 2. The pack includes three levels: Yeti Den, The Hive, and Chilled Cavern. These levels introduce new characters (Yeti and Goblin Sapper) and offer a new weapon/trap/trinket. In my opinion these new levels are the hardest ones I’ve played in the Orcs Must Dies series, specifically “Yeti Den”. I played the levels on War Mage and beat them solo, but definitely could not do that on Nightmare. The levels are set up to be played with multiple people and this pack would probably be a lot more entertaining on multiplayer.

Results:
Orcs Must Die! 2 is a fantastic game that combines RPG, FPS, and TD into one single game. With co-op play you can mess around with your friends and play the maps to a whole new level. Orcs Must Die! 2 also integrate Orcs Must Die! campaign into the game (if you own the latter) allowing you to play the original levels with the new elements of the Orcs Must Die! 2. There are way more weapons to mess around with, loads more spells, trinkets, and special tower upgrades making Orcs Must Die! 2 a great addition to the first game. With loads of DLC to add to it this game is a must buy. If you are unsure or maybe just frugal, such as myself, then wait till the complete pack is on sale and grab that. As you will want to buy the DLC once you really get into the game.

Pros:
+A campaign consisting of 15 new levels
+Addition of endless mode that lets you go nuts.
+Loads of new baddies (including the Orc Mages and Shaman from Orcs Must Die! DLC)
+Co-Op play so you can mess around with a friend and have a great new experience
+Incorporating RPG elements to the game
+Three DLC packs
+If you own the original you get Classic mode which includes ten levels from Orcs Must Die!
+Loads of new spells (including spells from Orcs Must Die! DLC)
+Loads of new towers (offering different play strategies)
+Trinkets (which give you passive and active abilities)
+Character customization with new costumes.
+The story picks up right where it left off.
+Two heroes which allow you to choose your play-style.
+They added weekly challenges, which get you to play maps in order to earn extra skulls.
+You can refund your skulls without any penalties as many times as you want.

Cons:
-Orcs Must Die! 2 seems to focus too much on grinding. (in order to beat the Campaign on War Mage you essentially need to play Endless mode to get skulls)
-The guardian limit is still incredibly low.
-There are no levels that corridor enemies so you can just build one long defensive run and have fun with the game.

Do you like Tower-Defence? Then this is the game for

-

It's a very fun and versatile game, although it seemed to get a little bit boring after you've completed the game, and done the Endless mode.

You can't unlock all of the achievements either without having the original game.

The greatest tower defense game I have ever played. Real fun solo and even better in co-op. The combo scoring system makes it a great way to high score. Some of my scores are still in top 10. One of my favorite games. Get it.

One of the best games I have ever played. Beating and perfecting your defense in this game is really challenging and really rewarding. Not only do you need to survive the levels, but you can five skull them, survive Nightmare, Five skull Nightmare and High score both difficulties. There are plenty of options with Endless involved as well. Fantastic game.

This game is an excellent addition to the franchise - worth hours and hours of fun. The cartoonish graphics and funny dialogue add to the in-game feel, but it is really about killing orcs, and the new traps and weapons make for much fun in that regard.

Very nice Tower Defence game mixed with First Person Shooter

Much more than a typical tower defense game. The third person action matches up nicely with the traditional TD vibe. The array of traps is astounding and brings back fond memories of Dungeon Keeper and Temco's Deception series (especially Trapt). The skulls awarded for each level keep you playing and the amount of content to unlock is staggering. It's brilliant in co-op too!

Orcs Must Die 2 Is obviously the Sequel to Orcs Must Die, But it feels like an expansion to some reguards.
For starters, not much has changed execpt New Enemies, Levels, Weapons and that sort of stuff. but It's still really fun and another feature added in was Co-Op!
And let me tell you, I reccomend playing this game with a friend. It's probably more fun than Another Shooter/Tower defense hybrid game, Sanctum. Why? It has more personal involvement, meaning instead of leaving your traps to do most of the dirty work You're gonna have to start taking down orcs with Two playable characters: The Warmage from the first game, and a New character, the Sorceress.
Both of them are different in reguards of their playstyles, The Warmage was made to be the Guy usually being in the heart of the Orc swarm, and the Sorceress relying on spells and staying further away but still helping out the Duo ALOT.
I honestly reccomend getting this instead of the first, only because It's better, and it has some levels from the FIRST Game as an added BONUS.
Seriously, I can't reccomend this game enough if you and a pal are looking for something to play together.

not even a few hours into playing and it's already apparent that I'm going to be logging quite a ton of said hours playing this game. get it in your collection now.