Review: Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!

Has there ever been a game with a longer title? And yet, there’s nothing else I would choose to call this little gem. This title fits it well.

This review may be a tad retro. Holy Badman came out in July, but only now did I summon up the courage to tackle it. For the most part, I avoid tower defense games. Badman is not the definitive Tower Defense game (I think probably Tower Defense would be, right?), but it falls in the genre due to its process. I’m not a fan of tower defense. I enjoy games that I can conquer. Tower defense games for me have always been unconquerable (mainly because most are). Sure, you can trudge on until you reach a high score, beat your friends’ scores, beat the worlds’ scores, but is there really an end? Is there a final level where you’ve beaten the head honcho and saved (or destroyed) the world? Usually not, at least in none I have ever attempted. There are exceptions, but for the most part the genre falls into the Pac-Man category of never-ending high scores. So what makes Badman different? It turns out, quite a bit. It still keeps to the same formula of defending an area against enemies, and it still seems to have no end, but it mixes the game up so much that this tower defense skeptic found himself charmed and amused for a surprising amount of time.

The most noticeable thing that Badman changes is the team you play for. You are not the beleaguered hero for a change. You’re actually a Dark God (!) who seems capable of nothing more than digging. Fortunately, digging into a grid of blocks in an underground setting has the power to summon minions for you. These minions acts as your defense against the heros who seek to invade your lair and capture your Summoner, Evil Overlord Badman himself. Badman is many things. For one, he’s the dude who brought you into this game. He’s also your guide and tutor through the world of lair defense. He’s also a comedian and will have your dark, godly self rolling with laughter.

The setup is really that simple. Your area of defense is a large grid of diggable blocks. They can either be blank blocks, or contain some minion that falls out when you break it. The minion that pops out depends on what type of resource happens to be in the block, and how much of it is there. There are two resources: nutrients and mana. Nutrients will summon one type and mana will summon another. In order to imbue these blocks with either substances, you need certain types of minions roaming around who will secrete them. Unfortunately, these minions both secrete and absord said substances, so finding the right balance requires a careful maneuvering of the minions’ pathways. It also requires patience for the random paths that these minions can take. You have no control aside from which blocks you choose to destroy, so getting your Slimemosses, the game’s basic nutrient unit, to actually go where you want it to and secrete what you want it to secrete is sometimes vexing.

It all sounds pretty complicated, and to be honest it actually can be. But it’s also fun and challenging and not as frustrating as some tower defense games (heck all tower defense games). One advantage you have is the ability to plan out your lair with each wave of heroes. You have a finite number of blocks to deal with, and a finite number of times each level that you can bust said blocks, but the grid is very large and you can expand ever deeper into it until you just plain run out of room. You only have access to half a dozen minions, but the combinations with which you can use them offer a whole host of ways to defend you lair from these vicious do-gooders. You can summon a fleet of dragons to guard narrow passages or create a horde of lizardmen overseen and strengthened by a team of demon overlords. You could, theoretically, line your entire lair with slimes and defeat the heroes through sheer annoyance at your lack of creativity. It’s actually kind of fascinating seeing this particular side of the coin. I’ve played so many dungeon crawlers and RPGs in my day, that venturing down into a cave full of baddies is second nature at this point. Actually creating that cave full of nasties is a rewarding challenge all its own.

As mentioned, the game has its downsides. The inability to control your minions, while adding extra challenge, often found me slashing at them with my hovering pickax just to kill them off (which is actually, I later found out, an effective strategy, though evil). The strength of the heroes is also daunting and makes you appreciate just what kind of advantages you had all those years slicing your way through cave after cave and slime after slime. It sometimes feels like these particular heroes are venturing into areas far too underpowered for them, like a level 50 warrior coming back and slaughtering all the boars in Elwynn Forest (WoW reference!). The food chain business can also cause some curses to fly. Many of your higher level units will simply walk around eating your lower level units, so again, finding the right balance of spawn and block-busting is important and sometimes even impossible. I watched one of my demons literally destroy an entire fleet of unsuspecting mana spirits yesterday before the heroes had even entered my lair.

On the whole, however, the game rewards smart play and there are near never-ending patterns as far as dungeon design go. The challenge and tutorial modes also offer fantastic learning experiences as well as breaks from the linear Story mode. This isn’t necessarily a game everyone will love, but its sense of humor, quirky style, and rewarding difficulty will soften even those of us not necessarily into this type of game. And while Badman is downloadable only at the moment, there is a push to get it on a UMD and into a box on your local shelf (for those who are into UMDs and cases). Either way, it’s well worth its 20 dollar price tag.

Title: Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This? Publisher: NIS America Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform(s): PlayStation Portable Release Date: July 16, 2025

Doin It RIGHT: - Addicting tower defense-like gameplay - Hilarious dialogue. - The chance to fight for evil.	Doin It RONG: - Nut-punching difficulty at times. -Pretty dated visuals, even for a port. -Limited control.
FINAL SCORE: 7.5 / 10