Darwinia

 I’ve been playing computer game since I was six. I don’t know how many games I have played. More than I can remember anyway…..but I’ve never played anything like Darwinia. From the eye-catching box and amusing manual to the 60Mb install (really!) everything about Darwinia intrigues. What kind of game is it you ask? I’ll tell you….this game is fun. Remember that? When games were fun? Not just about flashy graphics? It really is a joy to play. Regardless of gaming backgrounds the nostalgic presentation and pure gameplay will captivate.

Playing the game is rewarding and exciting; levels can be completed in many different ways, check out the official forums to get an idea. Not to say that it’s non-linear but there is enough room for personal creativity. At heart, it's a arcade/puzzle game. Normally the objective is to save Darwinians - little green A.I. guys - and complete a larger goal connected to the overall story, killing the invading Virus on the way. However, a fair amount of strategy must be employed but Darwinia is no RTS. There is no resource gathering or building bases or tank rushes. It’s done in a more, well, retro arcade way. You control a squad (you get other “units” to use later) by clicking a desination and firing with the right mouse button. Sound familiar? Yip, there is a fair bit of influence from classic titles such as Cannon Fodder and Syndicate it this respect.

Gameplay aside the ‘fake’ loading screens while beautiful have a few tips of the hat to the Spectrum. Don’t be put off non-gamers! This game is not just for geeks. There is a lot barefaced good fun in its artificial soul. Believe me, the immersion and empathy for the Darwinias should not be taken lightly. Every death is represented with a soul floating to the digital heavens; sometimes in a kite if they have time to perform their burial ritual. Its simple graphical beauty and sound sucked me in, emotional attachments to these simple life forms is unavoidable. I would purposely try to save every soul in each world, recoil in shock as the Viri attack my defenceless people and rain my wrath down on them for their mindless, vicious destruction.

Some may complain about the graphics and that it lacks the nitty-gritty realistic look that we come to expect these days. I feel this would be unfair as this is not what it’s trying to achieve. Darwinia is set inside a computer – much like Tron - and therefore has little connection with the world we see. The graphics engine is well polished and does a fantastic job with the landscapes as well as the game worlds creatures. Everything about it had this wonderful, lovely glowing warmth to it. The way objectives get lit up, the light emitted from trees, the nasty insect like Viri and the little Darwinians themselves are all beautifully displayed.

Its control system is also very interesting. It uses the keyboard to move the camera (viewpoint) and the mouse for direction and selection of programs etc, sounds normal no? However, a gesture system is used to create new units, which is fun, requires skill and can make things pretty intense during big battles. The game doesn’t have a specific training area, but the first couple of levels teach the basics to ease new players in.

Sound and music are also very good. Music is only really used during the intro and after all objectives have been met, but when they kick in, I would just sit back and listen. Warming and sometimes touching tracks with a more retro electronic beat (8-bit style courtesy of Trash80) add a lot to the atmosphere. The ambient sound is fantastic too, compromising mainly of the Darwinians and the Viri. The Darwinian’s make funny, cute little noises (sampled from a cat no less) and are especially lovable after a sector has been cleared when they start jumping/dancing around making chirping guinea pig like sounds. The Viri on the other hand make nasty insect like sounds, scratching and wriggling their way around the landscape. When “flying” about the landscape expect to hear many more sounds individual to the area, mining carts creaking around, and electricity cracking down power lines, all adding to the joy of exploring this amazing world.

It makes me smile this game, a lot. To think that iD and other huge companies now spend millions making games, only to produce something just like everything else. Technically amazing but cold and devoid of any emotion or warmth; I feel that there is something very human about Darwinia. I bow down before it both for its form and its wonderfully quirky soul.  

Niall Macdonald 

13/04/05