Playing the first level of Immortal Defense will bring immediate comparisons to Geometry Wars, and this comparison is valid throughout the game. Immortal Defense is not simply playing the copy-cat, however, and there is a lot of interesting flare to be seen. One persistent visual effect is the way that the game's visuals focus on the cursor. Move to one side of the screen and the enemies and points placed on the opposite side will fade and eventually become entirely blurred, represented only by pulsations of light. On the downside, the game's interface graphics are strictly low-fi. More bothersome, however, is how distracting the flashy graphical style can become in later levels. Fully upgraded points put out a lot of firepower, and it can be difficult to discern what is happening beneath the glow and flow of combat. There are times where the game's flash moves beyond a style choice and begins to distract from the gameplay.
Luckily, the game's purr is pleasant from start to finish, even while flashes of light are blinding you in the last ten levels. The soundtrack of Immortal Defense would sound awkward if left on its own, but it has a organic tone that supports the game's abstract intellectual slant. The sounds of combat are also impressive, with the most notable being the noises used to represent the destruction of enemy vessels. Ships disintegrate with the unforgettable sound of a glass pane breaking, immediately letting the player know that an enemy has been vanquished. The shattering of opponents is a welcome respite from the generic explosions you'd except from a game involving combat against an alien menace, and reflect the fragility of the vessels against the power of your will.
Immortal Defense was released in 2007 and was not reviewed by any major publications. The game is not even listed on Metacritic. Being an independent title from an extremely small group, it is only available as a download at the price of $14.95. At that price, Immortal Defense is nothing short of a steal. Playing through the entire campaign at the stock difficulty level took me ten hours. That isn't a particularly long time, but it is no shorter than the campaigns of some modern shooters. More important than quantity, however, is quality. Immortal Defense may be short, but it is also one of the most mentally and emotionally challenging games I've played in years.
This game is impossible not to recommend. It is cheap enough that anyone can afford it, and thanks to its low-fi graphics, it can be played on almost any system. Buy this game now, even if tower defense games are not normally your thing. The game is not impossible to dislike, as its graphics will prove too distracting for some, and others may become frustrated by the more challenging levels. But at $14.95, Immortal Defense is a worthwhile bet for even the most skeptical gamer.