Built on Emergent¹s Gamebryo engine (Oblivion, Warhammer Online, Civilization IV), Defense Grid: The Awakening¹s features include edge-of-your-seat gameplay, where players need to defeat hordes of invading enemies by strategically building fortification towers around their base. Each base has a number of valuable power cores that players must defend at all costs.  Enemies invade your bases in waves, intent on stealing all your cores and escaping.  The player can stop them only by strategically selecting and placing defensive towers as resources allow. .  This action all takes place in beautiful environments, complete with spectacular effects and a dynamic, engaging soundtrack.  The controls are intuitive and the gameplay is deep – the special attacks and properties of each tower work together to provide many ways to succeed.

Other Key Game Elements:

The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of Defense Grid: The Awakening includes:

* New Borderlands mission pack, which has four new advanced levels and 12
challenge modes.
* A unique combination of fixed and open maps that encourage different
strategies every time you play.
* 24 total unique maps to strategically position your towers on and prevent
alien enemies from stealing your power cores.
* 100 unlockable challenge modes to extend your gameplay.
* 10 different tower types, including Infernos, Teslas, Cannons and more.
Each tower can also be upgraded twice for devastating power.
* All towers with unique tradeoffs that affect ideal placement, such as
line-of-sight attack or ballistic trajectory fire; a large area of effect or
damage over time; and minimum and maximum ranges.
* 15 different types of enemies, each with unique capabilities and
strategies
* 10 hours of story and campaign play
* Custom soundtracks and loads of achievements