Defense Grid: The Awakening’s unique spin on tower defense gameplay is a perfect fit for the Xbox LIVE Arcade audience, as it appeals to gamers of all skill levels, features beautiful environments, 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.

New for the Xbox 360 is the included Borderlands mission pack which has four new advanced levels and 12 challenge modes, providing more bases to protect and more challenges to undertake than ever.

Defense Grid: The Awakening on Xbox Live Arcade features 10 different tower types that can each be upgraded twice. These towers all have 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. Over the course of the game’s 10 hours of story play, players battle 15 different types of enemies, each with unique capabilities and strategies, across 24 unique environments. To ramp up the challenge even more, Defense Grid: The Awakening now includes an additional 100 unlockable challenge modes.

Built on Emergent’s Gamebryo engine (Oblivion, Warhammer Online, Civilization IV), Defense Grid: The Awakening has been repeatedly lauded by the critics for excellent game balance, pace and progression. With each level, players encounter different placement of roads, tower build locations, and open areas to plan a strategy around. Each map, whether open plan or fixed route, encourages a different strategy, such as trying to find an optimal path to redirect enemies, making the best use of limited space, and breaking up individual enemy waves to avoid being overwhelmed, all while planning ahead for future waves.

The first premium expansion pack for Defense Grid: The Awakening comes to the Xbox 360 and PC this June in the form of Defense Grid: Resurgence: eight new from the original creators of the definitive tower defense game. For four consecutive weeks starting on June 2nd, a new pair of maps will be released providing new environments and strategic experiences, requiring new ways of thinking to beat back the aliens and protect the cores.

Each map pack will cost $ 0.99 or 80 Microsoft Points and will include two maps each having a campaign mode and 4 challenge modes. Defense Grid: Resurgence will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade and for PC on Steam and Direct2Drive. All map packs support new achievements and new high-score leaderboards.

Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 1 - June 2, 2010
Service Interruption and Height of Confusion

Two new challenging Defense Grid environments are the first two released in the Resurgence series. An obstructed road to the core housing gives the aliens a significant advantage in Service Interruption. Choose your towers wisely! Height of Confusion has a wide open surface, making for endless possibilities! Build anywhere you want in your defense of the power cores!

Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 2 - June 9, 2010
Risk Exposure and Roundabout

Don’t miss out on the next two Resurgence maps. Risk Exposure will allow you to discover your ability to defend two independent power core housings! Limited build spaces will test your skills as you divide your resources to discover optimal tower placement. On Roundabout, you will be faced with numerous possibilities for pathing and a variety of elevation changes. This one will have you going in circles to contain the alien menace!

Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 3 - June 16, 2010
Urban Planning and Tactical Diversion

It’s the third of four great map packs in the Resurgence series. Urban Planning is a dense environment with restrictive build spaces, forcing difficult decisions against continuously attacking hordes. In Tactical Diversion, survey the small, snow covered platform and consider numerous possibilities. But be prepared for the aerial assault!

Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 4 - June 23, 2010
Kill Zone and Outflow

The final installment of the Resurgence series includes two more environments sure to challenge your tactical planning. In Kill Zone, will you construct your defenses near the spiral road in, the spiral road out, or the open platform in the middle? Perhaps all three! But you’ll need to be on your toes to deter the invaders. Overflow has numerous connected platforms that will provide countless options to turn back the enemies. Will you be able to keep the cores safe?

Defense Grid: The Awakening, rated E10+, is currently available on PC and Xbox Live Arcade.