Darwinia

Sam is inspired by this original masterpiece...

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You can research improved versions of these units and weapons and as the game progresses you will happen upon glowing blue cubes, which contain new items to play with. Of course, these can also be researched to increase their range and potency. Of note is the air raid weapon, which allows your troops to lob beacons into the enemy. These beacons attract the bombers which are lifted straight from Space Invaders and quickly sterilise the area. As there are no resources to speak of research is little more than a waiting game. Supposedly capturing more radar dishes will speed things up, but as I'd pretty much maxed out all the units and weapons I was making use of by the end of the game there's little incentive to capture every building on every map. The maps themselves are rich in their diversity and texturing. The starter levels are basic and somewhat bland but by the time you reach the final stages of the infestation there is some grand architecture and swooping landscapes to admire. The gameworld is always a joy to behold, evoking as it does so many good old memories while managing to forge a distinct identity all of its own. So it's fortunate that the engine is a very smooth and well constructed beast. The camera controls hardly take any time to fall under the category of 'mastered' and it's only under extreme loads that the engine shows any sign of stress. As mentioned later on, things can get a little disorderly during the more frantic battles but for the vast majority of the time the gameworld and the engine that creates it are marvellous.

Darwinia has yet another ace up its sleeve in the shape of the story. For a game with such unashamedly retro gameplay there's a surprisingly detailed plot which is superbly woven into the fabric of the gameplay. To be honest, I think this is one of the best examples of integrating a story into a game that I have ever encountered, blowing the likes of Half-Life 2 clean out of the water. Not only does the plot develop according to your actions but it ties up very nicely at the end, giving the player a sense of achievement and accomplishment that certain FPS titles from last year, with their multi-million dollar budgets, spectacularly failed to do. I certainly hope I will revisit the world of Darwinia to see how the little chaps have gotten on in the meantime. To increase the already strong sense of immersion I would have liked to have seen a more involving login process as the setup of the game - the player jacks into a mainframe hosting the world of Darwinia just as things go wrong - cries out for an even greater blurring of the lines between reality and the gameworld. Saying that, the variety of retro-tinged intro screens are a joy for any old-school gamers.

In a world where ten man sound teams are not unheard of to have a game of such dazzling inventiveness and cheeky brilliance come out of a studio composed of three principles is nothing short of amazing. Some titles have more people working on manual design. However, while this tiny team have produced an amazing game the lack of numbers means there are a number of problems that a larger team could have dealt with. Darwinia is unfortunately plagued by bugs. During my time in the game I was booted out to the desktop far too often. The game would also freeze on occasion and sometimes the frame rate would drop down to single figures for no discernable reason. I also experienced problems with the gesture recognition system. While the system worked flawlessly for the most part during the final battle, when I needed my control to be at its finest, it wouldn't take in any commands, leaving my Darwinians to face an undignified slaughter without any backup from troopers extremely hesitant to make an appearance on the battlefield. Unit selection could also become very ropey when a lot was going. One mission in particular, which saw me create an armada of tanks, became a lesson in temper control rather than an enjoyable gaming experience.

So it's only to the game's credits that these many glitches and failures are still outgunned by the superior gameplay. Darwinia is just too enjoyable to let these bugs bring play to a halt, even if some of them threaten to bring unhealthy player's lives to a halt as their blood pressure passes beyond safe levels. Like its retro forebears Darwinia will always remain a rich gaming experience, no matter how far along time's arrow it travels. And like the classics from the halcyon period of gaming, the opulence of its gameplay will defy the words that writers of my limited capabilities can employ. So I may as well come to the end of this review and close it out with these final words. Darwinia is the most refreshing, beautiful, frustrating, compelling and dare I say it original game I've had the pleasure of playing in many a year. Considering the number of games I play each year I hope that statement, the words above and the score below, is enough to convince you of your need to buy and play Darwinia.

95%

By Sam Gibson