14. Survival Level: He-Man

Level Medal 1: Kill 1000 Infantry

Level Medal 2: Kill 300 Units with your Hero

It should already be pretty obvious that Survival Levels are different from the regular ones - but how different? While the regular levels feature a set number of waves with a set number of enemy troops and types, the Survival Level is exactly what it sounds like - wave after wave of enemy that you need to try to survive as long as you possible can.

The single factor that sets this apart from the rest of the game is a single Achievement - You Shall Not Pass (30g) Survive 10 rounds in any Survival mission.

Okay that is not really the only factor that stands out as far as differences goes, but it is an important one since, for a lot of players, it generally ends up being the guiding factor.

Actually to be fair there is one other Achievement that applies here, it is just that most players do not realize that it does apply. That other is the Challenger (40g) Complete all of the challenges for every level of one hero's campaign.

Another factor to note is that while there are basically 13 of the regular levels, there are only four (4) of the Survival Levels. And interestingly enough, unless you bought the special edition of the game, each of those four levels features the premium Heroes that you will have to buy as DLC if you want them.

That said, hey, these four levels are a fun way for you to be introduced to those four new Heroes before you pay for them... By kicking their butts!

Right so not that we have covered the things that set apart this type of level, let us address the basics OF this level...

The battlefield layout is a bit sparse in terms of impediments, and it features a nice placements layout, but it also features a very aggressive and fast wave structure, so you will find that it is both easy to end up overwhelmed and, once you ARE overwhelmed, it is easy to lose it.

As odd as this may sound - and be to experience - the biggest threat to your Toybox for this level seems to be the cute little floating piggies - which are actually really hard to defend against. That said, and moving on... Sticking with our usual coverage of the game, we will now examine the two Challenges / Medals!

Level Medal 1: Kill 1000 Infantry

The first Challenge is actually a basic one that should - assuming you stay alive - come with regular game play. That is to say it will require no special effort on your part OTHER than to be sure you are manning some turrets to actually score the kills for it.

There are PLENTY of targets for this one, so really unlocking it will just be a matter of playing through the level a few times to learn the pulse of each wave, and then figuring out what the best defensive layout is over-all.

Level Medal 2: Kill 300 Units with your Hero

Unlike the first challenge, this one actually requires some work - and timing. You should have very little trouble in earning the Action Points required to spawn your Hero several times - the trick is to spawn it just before an infantry wave, then run up close to the bridge to maximize the opportunity to kill Infantry.

That said, you should have little trouble with this - we did not.

Score Run

Calling this the Score Run is a little misleading since what it really is - to put a fine point on the matter - is a Survival run!

The trick to this is really two tricks - finding the right mixture of turret types, and remembering to get at least one if not two Flak Guns built.

Another trick is to control the waves at their spawn points - or as close to them as you can - early in the level. Basically if you can say, eliminate the left-hand spawn for each wave, you take a LOT of pressure off of your new turrets, so they can pretty much handle the right-hand spawn very well without that pressure.

Once you get the hang of the waves, and the feel for the piggies, this really does become rather trivial. While the Survival Levels are sort of the same thing over and over again, in a way they are more fun than the regular levels. Just saying!

If you feel like you are not doing well enough on this, keep working at refining your defenses. The most important upgrades seem to be range then damage. Remember that for the first 10 waves or so the HP of the enemy remains constant, but after that it gets higher, so if you have the range upgraded fully by the mid-10s you can focus on damage after that, and then your turrets REALLY become effective!

Oh, and one other thing - this is about fun. FUN. Unlike the regular levels, the Survival Levels are really all about fun so do not sweat it if it seems like the learning curve here is steeper. Alright then?