I feel the earth move under my feet.

The good folks at NIS America released an early demo of this bizarre new PSP title set for summer release. Most tower defense games focus on killing hordes of nasties. Well in this dungeon defense game (NIS is labeling it a “dungeon management game”) you dig, dig, dig up lots of nasties in order to kill the hero who is trying to capture Overlord Badman. The demo only features a tutorial and three story levels, but for fans of strategy games, this is looking to be a perfect fit for the PSP. It’s incredibly unique with a silly story and a delightfully simple interface.

The premise: you dig tunnels that spawn creatures. Each round a hero walks the path you created in an attempt to capture Badman; in the last demo level, a wizard and knight came after me. Your only way to stop them is to evolve stronger and stronger enemies. To do this, break blocks releasing slime that suck nutrients from the earth around them and multiply. Eventually, stronger enemies will spawn in specific blocks. Once released, they grow stronger by feeding on the weaker ones. It’s a big gooey mess of monster madness. Eventually caves appear (though I’m not 100% sure what all they do).

Between rounds you can level up enemy types. As a recent addict of tower defense games, I found myself replaying the first three levels in order to master the ecosystem, build the perfect tunnel structure, and kill the heroes as quickly as possible. Consider this a good fit for fans of slime, digging, strategy, and being the badguy! Check out the trailer here.