This bundle includes the Galaxy Defenders Base Game and the Operation Strikeback Expansion
Galaxy Defenders is a sci-fi cooperative, tactical battle wargame in which 1-5 players fight together against an oncoming alien menace. Each player takes control of one or more agents with unique powers to defend the planet from the alien invasion. Gameplay revolves around a tactical combat system, using custom ten-sided dice. Each player sequentially plays his Agent turn and then one Aliens turn. Players carry out their turns [agent and aliens] in clockwise order until the last player finishes his Aliens turn. Once done, the game passes to the Event phase that will bring the players to the next round. Players may choose up to five agents:
- Marine: Coming from U.S. Special Forces, the Marine is an excellent soldier who can manage different combat situations, especially multiple enemies.
- Biotech: The Biotech is the most technologically adept agent in service. He can use Nano-Technology to heal wounds or control war drones.
- Infiltrator: A deadly and stealthy agent. This lethal specialist prefers hiding in the shadows. She has fast movement and good short-range combat ability.
- Sniper: A silent sharpshooter and expert in camouflage and ranged combat. The sniper has average movement and excellent long-range firepower.
- Hulk: The Hulk was a successful mercenary and now is one of the best agents; although slow, he enjoys an extraordinary resistance to damage and has high firepower.
There is no "Alien player" in Galaxy Defenders; instead, the aliens are controlled by the game system itself, through an artificial intelligence system based on two types of cards:
- Alien cards, which define the behavior of each different alien and detail its skills and combat abilities.
- Close Encounter cards, which are used at the beginning of each alien turn to determine which aliens activate.
The combination of a unique AI for each alien species and the uncertainty about alien activation in a turn provides a realistic simulation of the chaos of battle and a sophisticated challenge for the players. Since having more agents brings more alien activations for the aliens, the turn structure allows the level of difficulty to scale dynamically based on the number of agents in play. If agents die during the game, the system "recalibrates" the difficulty to a reasonable and enjoyable level, so you still have a chance to complete the mission.
The battle for Earth will be carried out in a series of twelve missions organized in a completely story-driven campaign. Mission events influence future games in two different ways:
- Each mission has multiple endings, and the outcome of any mission will change the flow of the story.
- The agents gain experience during the missions. This experience transforms a good soldier into a perfect Galaxy Defender agent with multiple skills, basic and improved tactics, and the ability to use new devices, improved human weapons, and Alien technology.
In Galaxy Defenders: Operation Strikeback, an expansion for the Galaxy Defenders base game, the Agency prepares to counterattack. With new technologies and new weapons, agents launch a strike against the alien base on the dark side of the Moon with the help of genetically modified agents, facing new alien menaces and terrible creatures.
The scenarios included in the expansion develop the storyline begun with the campaign included in the Core Set.
New Features:
Operation Strikeback adds many new features and new mechanics to make Galaxy Defenders even more strategic, more epic, and more fun.
The six missions included create an epic adventure, and for the first time our heroes will face the highest-ranked invaders in the Alien Army… the Master Aliens!
These lethal opponents are represented in the game by purple-color cards and figures. The Alien card of a Master Alien is twice the size of a standard card. It’s also printed on both sides, each with a different set of stats for the Alien. The Master Alien can flip its card from one side to the other during combat, making its behaviour dynamic and unpredictable.
A common feature of Master Aliens is their “Archenemy” power. They are able to tell at a glance who’s the most dangerous Agent on the battlefield [called the Menacing Agent] and their behavior is influenced by his or her position, rather than that of the closest Agent.
Such opponents cannot be fought without the right equipment, and the GD Agency has created new “toys” for the agents, such as the extremely versatile Power Suits. It improves the Agent’s movement… and also gives him the ability to fly, seize bleeding companions and bring them to safety, and unleash a huge amount of firepower upon the alien scum!
Agents will also be endowed with psionic powers. The amazing mind powers they can develop allow them to walk through time, cause lethal and critical hits, predict the future, and much more!
Last, but not least, Agents are no longer alone in this war. A new Non-Player Character [NPC] system allows intelligent non-player agents to fight side by side with the GD squad.
NPCs in Galaxy Defenders are represented by yellow-colored cards and figures, and are handled by an A.I. mechanic similar to the system used for the Aliens. Each NPC card describes the behavior, stats, abilities, and special tactics of that character, so each NPC will act differently on the battlefield.
A player will have the choice to activate an NPC before or after his agent, adding a whole new level of strategy. Human signals in a mission may indicate the appearance of an NPC, who can be added to any existing mission.