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Hi everybody! The game for review this month is Multiwinia (http://goo.gl/yaV0B), a real-time strategy experience by Introversion. Maybe you’ve heard about Darwinia (an RTS published back in 2005); this is the sequel, introducing new gaming ideas. Background Story & Gameplay The world of Darwinia is a virtual theme park running inside a computer network. It was created by a computer genius called Dr. Sepulveda, who combined decades worth of genetic research to create sentient, evolving life forms: the Darwinians. In the original game, these little two-dimensional fellows are overrun by an evil computer virus, taking over the main systems and forcing Darwinians to face evident doom. With some help from Sepulveda, the viral infection is beaten and status quo ultimately restored.
Salut à tous ! Le jeu dont je vais faire la critique ce mois-ci est Multiwinia (http://goo.gl/yaV0B), une expérience de stratégie en temps réel par Introversion. Vous avez peut-être entendu parler de Darwinia (un jeu RTS publié en 2005) ; celui-si en est la suite, qui présente de nouvelles idées de jeu.
Histoire & jeu
However, as time flies, Darwinians evolve into more independent and aggressive beings. They form tribes and begin to fight over the land’s resources. In this new era, they’re called Multiwinians, a far cry from the peaceful, law-abiding entities they once were. Great battles rage all over Darwinia, consuming many digital lives and creating fear…
Still, Multiwinians cannot manage by themselves, and they need someone to guide their actions. In addition to simple annihilation, the game has strategic battle modes such as Capture The Statue and Rocket Riot, in which you need to focus also on protecting your assets and planning some sort of a strategy for different phases of the game. I find this appealing since too many of today’s RTS’s simply feature the armament phase and the all-out attack, leaving little in between. Nevertheless, there could be some improvement, because many scenarios just end up in a huge demolition match, no matter what the actual mission is.
I very much liked the fact that Multiwinia is easy to dig into. Controls are standard, and there are two tutorials covering most of the essential feats. Anyways, the real trick is to be fast: scenarios usually last less than ten minutes, and reinforcement troops need to be deployed at once when they are available. Battle efficiency can be enhanced by creating formations of troops led by officers, building gun turrets, using transportation vehicles, and taking advantage of powerful custom weaponry.
Since Multiwinia was originally released in 2008, the minimum requirements are not too bad: a 2.0 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 32 MB video card, and 60 MB of disk space. Yet, surprisingly, I experienced a noticeable slow-down on my Ubuntu 11.10 laptop (2.7 GHz Core i7, Radeon 6470 1 GB, 4 GB DDR3, SSD), playing with the highest settings on an external 27” Full HD screen and 1080p resolution. With lower settings there was no problem.
Conclusions
While Multiwinia is certainly noticeable among RTS games, and has a characteristic idea for gameplay, it loses much in its repetitive nature. Participating in fierce, lightning-fast battles of hundreds of troops is cool, but, after a few days of intensive gaming, one likely loses interest. I had high hopes for the multiplayer, but the servers are not very active. Summing it up, Multiwinia is probably a good game when played once in a while, hacking through a couple of scenarios in a burst.
Good: -easy to learn; challenging to master; intuitive set of basic controls -nice background story -decent gameplay - even on a low-end machine
Bad: -repetitive nature of things regardless of the game mode -inactive servers for multiplayer -the tutorial is not as thorough as in Darwinia
Points: 7 / 10
Bobby is a physics-based space adventure developed by Nooskewl Games. Your goal is to maneuver Bobby the Bullet throughout each level to knock the green balls into the red spiral. Once you eliminate all of the balls, the red portal turns green, inviting you to warp to the next zone. You are awarded stars after completing each level, and are graded on how quickly you complete them.
The controls are quite simple – change directions with the arrow keys, and propel Bobby using the space bar. Although the game mechanics are simple, the real challenge lies in the precision and timing. One over-zealous push of the space bar will send him flying into the portal, thus restarting the level if the green balls aren't cleared yet!
Aesthetically, Bobby is fun and vivid with plenty of arcade nostalgia. The graphics are clear and smooth, and there were no noticeable glitches or frame rate issues when tested on Oneiric 11.10. The music and sound effects are also of good quality, and set the mood for a nice session of classic gaming. The premise is simple – knock the green balls into the portal to advance to the next stage. But the simplicity of the game is what makes it so charming and addicting.
You can download a free demo from Nooskewl's website, or purchase all 75 levels at https://www.nooskewl.com/buy_bobby.html for only $0.99. Bobby is also available for purchase in the Ubuntu Software Center.
Good: • fun and addictive • soundtrack
Bad: • can be frustrating • some over-sensitive controls
Score: 9/10