Anomaly Warzone Earth

"It was the year 2018 when the world looked to the heavens and watched as a giant comet bore down on our planet. We were the first ones on the scene - 14th Platoon.

"I know - I was there."

—14th Platoon's commanding officer, in the opening cutscene for Anomaly: Warzone Earth That was also the only moment of dialogue that's possible to take seriously, by the way.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is a "Reverse-Tower Defence" game developed by 11bit Studios, which puts the player in charge of a military unit - the aforementioned 14th Platoon - in the wake of what, at first, is thought to be the impact of a disintegrating comet upon various parts of Earth.

The theory that the objects that hit Earth were merely parts of a disintegrating comet is disproven, however, when they create energy domes around large sections of Tokyo and Baghdad - and when, after penetrating the domes, the units of the 14th Platoon encounter resistance in the form of defensive towers that have popped up along the streets.

As the commander of the 14th Platoon, it's your job find out what's going on, using six different vehicles and the various abilities that your Combat Suit gives you.

"Chopper Seven, give us a readout of what tropes this game uses!"

All Your Base Are Belong to Us
Artifact Icon - You didn't control Combat Suit commander in the iPhone version of the game, but the game icon still has him.
Death From Above - The Combat Suit's "Airstrike" ability, which - you guessed it - calls in an airstrike.
- Also one of the achievements in the game. You unlock it by destroying four towers with a single airstrike.
Easy Logistics - You can buy new units whenever you have the money, and they simply get airdropped onto the battlefield. Which causes some Fridge Logic, because why couldn't they drop you at your destination to begin with?
- Averted in one mission, where your transport is damaged and you can't buy more units.
Escort Mission - At least three:
- In Story Mode, your transport is damaged and you have to destroy the towers along its route.
- In another story mission, you have to bring an unarmed tank to a station where its weapons can be installed. For the rest of the mission, it packs dual flamethrowers.
- One in "Tokyo Raid", where a VIP in an unarmed vehicle joins your units to observe how your troops handle the defensive towers in one particular area.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin - The four Combat Suit abilities: "Repair" repairs all of your units in a given area, "Decoy" draws the attention of the enemy towers away from your units, "Smoke Screen" creates a field that makes it harder for enemy towers to target anything inside it, and "Airstrike", which . . . calls in an airstrike.
Friendly Fireproof - Airstrikes won't damage your units if they happen to be passing by when the bombs fall.
Glass Cannon - The Crawler. Does the most damage of any vehicle in the game, but has the worst armor.
Global Currency - You pay for your units (and upgrades to same) with dollars, despite the fact that you're working in Baghdad and Tokyo. And that you seem to be a British platoon.
Human Aliens / Rubber Forehead Aliens: Professor Sharp.
Imported Alien Phlebotinum: The Shield Generator unit. You gain access to it after rescuing Professor Sharp.
Kill It with Fire - One of the vehices you can unlock is the Dragon, which is armed with two independent plasma throwers.
Malevolent Architecture - The alien defense towers.
Nintendo Hard - And how. This game is extremely difficult right from the start.
Regenerating Shield Static Health: Health must be repaired but shield from shield vehicles is going to regenerate itself.
Robot War: Sharp implies as such.
Scenery Gorn: The game takes place in wrecked Baghdad and Tokyo.
Shout-Out - The names of two of the achievements: Pimp My Squad and A Bridge Too Far. You earn them by fully upgrading a unit and beating the "Tokyo Raid" missions, respectively.
Spider Tank - The Crawler, which has articulated legs instead of treads.
Tank Goodness - 14th Platoon is an armor platoon, after all.
They'd Cut You Up: Why Sharp doesn't stick around after the Processor is destroyed.
Tower Offense: Yes, you heard it right. In this game, you control the attackers, and the towers are your enemy. Not the Ur Example (Stronghold already had elements of this at the time), but definitely the one that started the trend.
Throwing the Distraction / Look Behind You! - The "Decoy" ability, which creates an energy signature that the defensive towers focus on.
Variable Mix: The music is more intense during combat and relaxes when not being near towers.
We Have Reserves: Played with; 14th Platoon can only deploy six vehicles at a time, but you can replace them at will provided you have the money to do so.
With This Herring: You must stop an alien invasion... with no more than six vehicles and some air support.