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Darwinia Review

Derek dela Fuente

25/02/2005

TVG takes a look at Darwinia the new title from Introversion Software...

It would be easy to wax lyrical about this strange, mesmerising and delightful game from a development team â“ a UK one â“ which consists of a mere team of four. Yes, Introversion Software is tiny but with an enormous amount of talent. A few will remember their previous game Uplink which although it was only a minor underground hit, helped spread the word about the team and their obvious talent. There are many interesting facts that surround the team â“ none more so than the fact their distributor is one of the leading lights in the UK â“ Pinnacle - who usually deal with the big boys in the industry, the likes of EA and UbiSoft, and to take on Introversion surely shows they knew something that many are only finding out now.

So what is Darwinia? Many will have their own take on the game but both visually and gameplay wise it has shades of Zarch and Virus, with even a smidgen of Archipelagos thrown in. A flowery and somewhat cerebral story is the backdrop to get you in tune with the game but all you really need to know is that it is good v bad and you are in control of the eventual outcome. There is a big bad war out there on this mysterious patchwork landscape and it is up to you to control a number of tasks, yes thatâs correct, tasks to insure the virus affecting a number of islands doesnât destroy the landscape and those that live there! Now whether we have a truly expansive imagination or that the âDarwinian factorâ is about you understanding the deeper nature of the game it is hard to tell but this game does make you think a lot more than most games! The game also has many engaging but quirky ideas and none more so than the fact there are many computer references both in a visual form (actions) and in words, which all go into the mix to give the whole experience a rather pleasing glow.

We could waffle on for ages about the possible deeper meaning of the game and the cosmetic touches that collectively take this game onto another level but we are sure you are starting to get the picture!

Darwinia boast of having no onscreen icons or clutter of any kind which is not totally true. If that was the case you could not play the game! What they mean is the game screen is not framed by icons, for you do have a laid-over icon screen to control your tasks and actions but actions in the game are more to do with your directives and so the mouse pointer is your real weapon and you are more focused on movements than any on screen icons or overlays!

The first view of the game, one which is constant, will be a huge colourful grided landscape, which is a collection of islands. Undulating land, mountains, strange structures and even trees give it an ambient and desolate feel. Further into the game expect to be impressed with huge constructions and life forms.

The world is under threat and we will not go heavy on you with references to the Proctologic system or the tiny corruption of one entityâs digital DNA duplicating a cancer that could cause irretrievable corruption but will tone it down for you in conveying the need to save the world from a period of growth and research from infection, which is pretty obvious!

Fans of Sensible Softwareâs Cannon Fodder will be totally at ease with the interface and some of the actions undertaken although it must be said there is only a small influence from them. It is now that things begin to get a little tougher â“ not with the game â“ although it isnât easy â“ just the fact that putting into words the simplicity of the actions â“ whilst conveying the complexities and knock on affects that occur can not be put over in their true sense! Needless to say you have real affinity once you are playing, informing you that you have to make physical shape patterns on the screen to activate events and to switch them could leave you slightly bemused â“ giving you a nugget of information that you can shoot the virus away ala centipede would have you thinking this is an arcade blaster with the most mundane of actions. Darwinia is a fusion of interlinked actions and tasks â“ against time with strategy, resources, research and plenty of thought and not a little haste. Events are going on throughout play, some in a passive form, others helping your cause! It is like no one other game but draws inspiration from many â“ now that is Darwinian or should we say Darwinia! If you are pushing the envelope you could also chuck in the Matrix as an influence.

So back to where we were explaining the game action. Make a shape, grab a squad (or an engineer), see what the objectives are and off you jolly well go. Running the mouse icon around the screen, tapping on the keyboard to zoom in or out (using the wheel on your mouse), setting your squad up, shooting all the red virus and clearing an area is easy peasey. The engineer is then called in to do some picking up and to capture the control towers and then the sly puzzles kick in. Yours truly being so stupid and not realising these chaps have worked on the basis of simple gameplay ideas, captivating ones at that, going back to those good old days, took longer than you should to understand the mindset of the dev team but with true focus got there in the end!

Once you make it over to the next island, zap some more virus and clear the area you them move onto a new map and new challenge with essentially the same vision and focus, basically the same actions but with extended options.

If you start to dissect some of the gameplay ideas, which are basic in themselves, there is not much to talk about. Itâs the visual mesmeric look and nature of the game, the way simple ideas link together, that make it almost compelling. Yes, the game does have a repetitive nature about it but then again so do 90% of titles. Even after a 30 min stint playing the game you wander off and think about wanting to play the game again. Itâs almost addictive!

Visually the game has enough eye candy and interesting landscapes to keep any gamer happy. The sound matched with the clever use of visual effects always keeps interest high and each new challenge presents thought provoking teasers to undertake!