Darwinia Review
Not quite evolved enough
Tags: Darwinia Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Oct 27th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Darwinia (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Other | No | ||
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Darwinia is one of those “tough to describe” kinda’ titles. It has some basic elements of numerous games, with core gameplay comparable to an RTS, and also shades of Lemmings, as well as classic arcade games, with just a hint of Arx Fatalis (thanks to mouse gestures required for some of the game’s actions). However, if you had to place Darwinia in a genre, it would undoubtedly have to be the “weird” genre. Previously only available on Valve’s Steam service, Darwinia has made such a reputation for itself that it has now made the jump to retail, where a whole new audience can puzzle over it.
The first thing you’re bound to notice about the game is its aesthetic qualities. Darwinia features graphics that have a kind of retro Tron-meets-Space Invaders look to them. While not technically impressive, there’s definitely a kind of style here that sets the game apart. In addition, the soundtrack is a kind of alien, minimalist sound that one might almost be tempted to say is just a series of beats and noises. Ultimately, this unusual and somewhat unsettling atmosphere makes for a great setting for the game.
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The premise of the game is that you, the player, have inadvertently stumbled upon a virtual theme park created by Dr. Sepulveda. As it so happens, your arrival comes at a pivotal time, as the theme park has been overrun with viruses that threaten the existence of the park’s virtual denizens, the Darwinians. So, with countless virtual lives at stake and without any other options, the good doctor enlists you to fight these viruses and save the Darwinians.
This is accomplished largely through creating “programs”, which in RTS terms are the different units you use to accomplish tasks. Unlike most RTSes, there isn’t much in the way of resource-gathering here, and the only limit on the amount of units you can create is a cap on how many can be under your command at a given time. In the beginning, you only have three units to work with, and if you already have three made, you must destroy one if you want to make another. Needless to say, this is quite an inventive approach to RTS resources, and adds an interesting touch to the gameplay strategy.
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When in battle, your forces are controlled directly, with the player manually targeting enemies and clicking every time they want to fire. This gives the game a bit more of an arcade action kinda’ feel, although it’s not without its problems. Hit detection is a bit sketchy, often catching on the 3D terrain, and as the game’s most basic enemy is a 2D snakelike virus that hugs the ground (and there are often dozens of them in any given area), you’ll often find yourself clicking multiple times just to get in what should have been an easy shot.
Also problematic is the game’s AI. To be blunt, it doesn’t exist. Enemies are completely predictable and your own units are absolutely brainless, which becomes even more clear as a result of their ridiculously poor pathfinding skills. You have to babysit any unit you want to move from point A to point B, lest they get stuck on the scenery, get confused and take the wrong route, or mindlessly fling themselves into force fields to die. Enemies often suffer this mindlessness as well, and there were a few situations where I could just wait behind the safety of a force field as an enemy killed itself for me.
One would think that the occasional accidental death wouldn’t be so bad, considering the limitless resources the game offers. However, as units must be spawned from a base that may be quite some distance away, and generally move at a snail’s pace, a frustrating AI “oopsie!” can quickly become maddeningly frustrating.
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Compounding this fact is the game’s performance issues. Despite being graphically simple, the game has all sorts of problems with slowdown and even some glitches. This may be understandable in a game like Oblivion, where every resource your machine has is working on creating a massive, complex environment, but in a world of 2D characters and visuals that harken back to the days of vector graphics, these problems are harder to dismiss.
Without all of these issues, Darwinia would have been an interesting and perhaps even successful experiment in game design, as this is one of those unusual titles that actually tries to do something completely new, and one that definitely shoots for the “games as art” category. The words “unique” and “original” seem like they must be a staple of a review of the game, and the title’s creators deserve credit for bringing us something unlike anything else on the market. Unfortunately, in this case, “unique” and “original” doesn’t necessarily mean “fun”.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Unique and original + Great presentation |
6.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Frustrating hit detection issues - Extremely poor AI - Far too much slowdown and too many glitches for a game this graphically underwhelming |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Darwinia is certainly “unique” and “original”. It’s a shame it’s not very “fun”. | |
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Tags: Darwinia
Posted by Jake McNeill on Oct 27th, 2006 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
