Anthony Bailey (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} anthonybailey) wrote,@ 2007-01-27 16:31:00 |
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| Entry tags: | hreview |
Burning time in a virtual world
I had three whole weeks of holiday over Christmas/New Year, so I thought I'd indulge myself enough time to play through some computer game. I was intending to catch up with a random well-regarded FPS such as Halo, but I couldn't seem to get into it - Half-Life 2 has made me very demanding, and I'll wait for Episode 2.
Instead I ended up downloading a game through Steam. (This delivery system suits my lazy shop-averse needs, and seems to be working as intended: I downloaded a trailer, then the free demo, and finally bought the complete game.)
Darwinia
by Introversion Software
Darwinia is a very fun and involving real-time strategy / god-game combination with a unique vector/retro graphic aesthetic.
The evolving back story concerns a virus-infected AI-inhabited virtual world run on a cluster of unsellable 1980's computers (think Sinclair QLs.) You get to wipe out the virus through various means (usually involving lasers and explosives), to gradually resurrect the world's citizens, and to direct them to work and fight to save their world.
The game is by a small team who clearly cared a lot about it. Apart from the award-winning visual design, there's a good soundtrack and a plethora of start-up sequences. And, on completing the game you unlock its editor...
See, I started writing this review more than a week ago, and went browsing around for background material. (There are lots of extras on the game's official site - the tortuous development history is particularly fascinating.) I found a large list of community mods. I'm still playing through the first I downloaded - Insurrection - and am enjoying it as much as the original game. Involving to the point of life-consuming, then.
