Clarification: ’Resurgence’ refers to an upcoming set of eight expansion maps for Defense Grid, distributed in four packs of two maps each for $1/80 MS Points for each pair of maps. These maps require the original Defense Grid in order to play, and will be released on June 2, June 9, June 16, and June 23; this article only looks at the two maps being released on June 2.

Defense Grid has earned a justified reputation as one of the better tower defense games, mixing good level design, replay value, good graphics, and otherwise excellent presentation. With this in mind, Hidden Path has prepared a set of new stages for players to enjoy and is charging a very fair price; two for a dollar. Of comparable length and difficulty to stages near the end of the main Defense Grid levels, these are clearly meant for those already familiar with the game. What’s interesting is that each of these two stages is very different from one another, one forcing you to work within severe constraints and the other giving you nearly total freedom.

Service Interruption is the first level in this pack, using an urban theme where several parts of the stage are accessible to aliens but blocked off by segmented walls; your towers can only see any given alien for a few moments on most parts of the stage. It’s up to you how to figure out how to deal with this, determining which opportunities to take advantage of since you probably won’t get enough resources to cover every situation in each location. It’s a difficult map, but one that rewards understanding Defense Grid in-depth and was very satisfying once completed.

Height of Confusion takes the opposite approach by letting you do nearly whatever you like. The only elements on this stage that are pre-determined are two entrances (and an aerial path), the power core storage, and the exit. Virtually everything else is an empty square that can host a tower. This causes the level to start out as a very short one where the aliens can make a beeline for the cores, and you essentially have to build a level around them to lead the aliens on a long enough path to give your towers time to destroy them. While this kind of level isn’t to my personal tastes, I can’t call it bad; there will certainly be players who enjoy it.

Are these two maps worth your time and money? Definitely. I would have been willing to pay a dollar for just Service Interruption,  and getting what amounts to ’build your own stage’ on top of that is a very nice bonus. If you still enjoy Defense Grid’s overall mechanics but want a new experience, pick this map pack up; it’s a great addition to the game!