Monday Night Combat

At first glance, Monday Night Combat has the makings of a forgettable game. The braying announcer welcomes you to a simplistic session of shooting mindless robots in a bland neon arena. The tutorial familiarizes you with the basic actions that your assault class soldier can perform but makes little mention of the five other playable classes. You'd be forgiven for thinking developer Uber Entertainment is trying to hide something or, at the very least, for wondering, "Is this it?" But if you push beyond the lackluster first impression, you'll find that those mindless robots are put to very good use in this surprisingly entertaining shooter. Monday Night Combat cleverly infuses the familiar dynamic of objective-based competitive play with tower defense mechanics to create a novel combat experience. The six soldier classes provide a diverse array of satisfying and strategic ways to play, and the engaging "gotta spend money to earn money" mentality means you always have a host of tactical options clamoring for your attention. It has its limitations, but Monday Night Combat is a great new place for shooter fans to flex their itchy trigger fingers.

Monday Night Combat has two core gameplay modes: Blitz and Crossfire. In Blitz, which you can play solo, split-screen, or online with up to three other players, you must defend a shiny disco ball full of money from waves of robot attackers. These greedy bots come in many varieties, and each poses a unique threat, from stout soldiers and bounding gorillas to flying suicide bombers and walking mortar cannons. Killing bots earns you money, which allows you to upgrade your soldier's skills, install defensive turrets at designated locations, and use battlefield hazards to your advantage. Money is also the ultimate tally of your triumph in Blitz mode, and if you successfully defend your money ball, your score gets posted to the online leaderboards. Blitz comes in a few different difficulty levels, and while you can complete the easiest mode by yourself without too much trouble, the tougher ones will strain even experienced teams. Beating these challenges and striving for high scores has some limited appeal, and it's a good way to familiarize yourself with the four different turret varieties; the various soldier-specific skills; and the sharp, responsive controls.