Watch out for the old ball and chain.
Family Ties is the second Booster Pack DLC for Orcs Must Die 2 and it was released without much warning this week on Steam. Much like the Fire & Water Booster pack, Family Ties brings new levels, Endless mode conversions, enemies and a few new weapons to help in your fight against the Orcs. Let’s take a look at what we get.
What You Get
The three new levels included in Family Ties are Rush Hour, Breakneck Triad and Triple Threat, which can all be played solo or cooperatively. None of them stand out in any way, but I still had a good time playing and earning more Skulls on them. What really matters to me in this DLC is the weapons and trinkets that you get, and Family Ties brings some nice new additions to your Spellbook.
First up is the Jar of Ghosts Trinket which will scare enemies away when used or if they hit you. I try to stay as far away from the action as I can while my traps do most of the work so this one wasn’t all that useful for how I play, but does work well if you find yourself surrounded by enemies. Next is the Teleportation Ring which lets you set a teleport marker anywhere on the map and then use the secondary attack function to teleport to that spot. I really liked this one, as you could set a marker near the exit and then teleport back to it if enemies are getting too close.
My personal favorite though is the new Stone Staff which has a fast firing primary attack and then lets you turn enemies to stone with the secondary attack. It’s great if you’re in a bind and need some space, just turn them to stone and then you get some free shots before they turn back. This is particularly helpful if you have a few larger enemies getting really close to the exit.
Family Ties also comes with new Endless mode conversions for Breakneck Triad, Stairs of Doom and Servant Entrance, the new Ball and Chain female Orc (pictured at the top of the article), new outfits and a new bonus Skull for not using any mana during a level.
Verdict
Fans of Orcs Must Die 2 will enjoy the three new maps, but the real value in Family Ties is the new weapons and trinket in my opinion. I don’t really get sick of the maps, so I really just want more traps and weapons more than anything. As far as the price goes, I know $5 isn’t much, but I still wish developers would price DLC for $15 games better. If you’re not getting 1/3 of the content, you shouldn’t be paying 1/3 of the price. That’s how my math works anyway.
Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 26th, 2012
Available On: Steam
