Much better layout
I've had to wait a few days, while I delve into the depths of this, in order to give it the in depth review that it deserves. Clearly there has been a lot of time, though and effort put into not only this game, but the predecessors and over the past few years, Gemcraft has become one of, if not the premier tower defence game.
I love the story behind it, the way that levelling up becomes an essential part of your tactics and that there is far more to this game than just the strategy of placing a tower in the correct place - traps and now walls have come into play, as has a new AI, where monsters can choose which way they run, thus increasing the Real Time Strategy value of this as a game and setting it apart from Gemcraft 1 and 0.
As if 169 levels wasn't enough, you can customise each level a lot more than previously, adding more monsters (more of a challenge for more experience) and making it so that there are features that would make the level impossible for a newcomer, even to Level 1.
The fact that planning your journey now factors into it, as some levels can open up to three new levels, while others are dead ends, this adds a nice element to the game, that I missed with the other maps, because they didn't seem to be the clearest of indicators where to go, while this one is rigid, bordered exactly on the squares and is very easy to follow. With the gems being built up this time, I wasn't a fan of not being able to start with a pocket full of gems, that I can set up some horrific defences, that allow me to burn through 20+ gem bombs, to make it interesting, before the tougher waves come along.
I can see this game becoming quite a time-sink over the next few months and while I do not begrudge that, I would like to see a few little tweaks here and there - Newgrounds Medals, for a start. We love your games here and I'd love to see some that get a bit of recognition for playing them, otherwise I'll just play them on Armor Games, where I can get access to the other features.
I think that this is the best yet - don't rest on your laurels, make another one and see if you can get even better.
[Review Request Club]