Multiwinia: Survival of the Flattest Review
18 September 2008 | By Marco Fiori
Multiwinia is a true triumph. Buy it, the developers deserve some cash for their outstanding hard work
Less is more. We urge every developer, publisher and gamer to heed those words. Complexity is definitely great, but at the same time, the game needs to be fun to play. It’s a lost concept as gamers encompass an age of high definition gore, realistic physic systems and in-depth multiplayer modes. Then Braid came along; Tank Universal quickly followed and Left 4 Dead continues to receive praise. These games choose a distinct artstyle and stick to a common principle. You pay for a game for one simple reason; entertainment. You don’t want to spend 40 hours watching CGI cut scenes or another 100 grinding through repetitive monsters. It’s all about fleshing out a core concept and letting the gamer revel in it.
That’s exactly what Introversion have done. They did it with Defcon, a criminally overlooked PC title that gave players control of the big red button. How many people can you wipe out in a nuclear war, all within the confines of a world map and the soft booming of warheads. Before Defcon was Darwinia. It didn’t do as well as it should of, again due to its unique style and peculiar concept. Ala Tron, you found yourself in the world of Darwinia, a digitalised utopia where the inhabitants, Darwinians found themselves under attack from a computer virus. The game panned out as a retro-styled strategy title. It was genius and received plenty of awards, which prompted production of a sequel; Multiwinia.
With the virus eradicated it wouldn’t be long before peace found itself thrown aside. Mirroring reality, the lack of resources prompted the games’ tribes to fight; “drunk on power and unswerving in their pursuit of world supremacy.” Little of this is needed as the game’s simply about a variety of scenarios with a clear aim. If you’re a ‘story-junkie’ then it’s there, but for the majority, the game’s all about leading your stick-men into combat and coming out as the victor.
The most obvious place to start is with Multiwinia’s visual style. Can games be art? Can they express emotion? It’s questionable as to what art is, but Multiwinia fulfils many of the medium’s qualities. Its visual prowess is striking, it’s underlying tones prophetic. It’s all a bit fancy. It’s all a bit deep. If we’re being lateral, Multiwinia is a game with the bare basics and nothing else. It’s got different coloured stick men; angular, wireframe scenery; a blocky cloud ridden sky and laser bolts for destruction dealing. It’s minimalistic and works perfectly. The colours contrast fantastically and it all combines in a visual experience that can rival the realism of GTAIV or Gears of War and even surpass it.
Multiwinia may be ironically high brow in its graphics, but its core gameplay is the simplest of the simple. You combine the mouse, a couple keyboard keys and a smart control scheme to produce fluid gameplay that oozes simplicity and complexity at the same time. Hold down the left mouse to select a circular bunch of Darwinians and send them to capture new spawn points or pick up airstrike-delivered crates.
There’s a wide range of gameplay modes available. Assault, Blitzkreig, Rocket Riot, Capture the Statue, King of the Hill and Domination have all been seen before. Transport them into the gorgeous world of Multiwinia and it feels fresh, unforeseen before. It feels perfectly suited for what the game offers. You can’t get confused with your aim and there are plenty of [increasingly] difficult levels to get your practice in.
That’s exactly what Introversion have done. They did it with Defcon, a criminally overlooked PC title that gave players control of the big red button. How many people can you wipe out in a nuclear war, all within the confines of a world map and the soft booming of warheads. Before Defcon was Darwinia. It didn’t do as well as it should of, again due to its unique style and peculiar concept. Ala Tron, you found yourself in the world of Darwinia, a digitalised utopia where the inhabitants, Darwinians found themselves under attack from a computer virus. The game panned out as a retro-styled strategy title. It was genius and received plenty of awards, which prompted production of a sequel; Multiwinia.
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| Captue The Statue | Chaos |
With the virus eradicated it wouldn’t be long before peace found itself thrown aside. Mirroring reality, the lack of resources prompted the games’ tribes to fight; “drunk on power and unswerving in their pursuit of world supremacy.” Little of this is needed as the game’s simply about a variety of scenarios with a clear aim. If you’re a ‘story-junkie’ then it’s there, but for the majority, the game’s all about leading your stick-men into combat and coming out as the victor.
The most obvious place to start is with Multiwinia’s visual style. Can games be art? Can they express emotion? It’s questionable as to what art is, but Multiwinia fulfils many of the medium’s qualities. Its visual prowess is striking, it’s underlying tones prophetic. It’s all a bit fancy. It’s all a bit deep. If we’re being lateral, Multiwinia is a game with the bare basics and nothing else. It’s got different coloured stick men; angular, wireframe scenery; a blocky cloud ridden sky and laser bolts for destruction dealing. It’s minimalistic and works perfectly. The colours contrast fantastically and it all combines in a visual experience that can rival the realism of GTAIV or Gears of War and even surpass it.
Multiwinia may be ironically high brow in its graphics, but its core gameplay is the simplest of the simple. You combine the mouse, a couple keyboard keys and a smart control scheme to produce fluid gameplay that oozes simplicity and complexity at the same time. Hold down the left mouse to select a circular bunch of Darwinians and send them to capture new spawn points or pick up airstrike-delivered crates.
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| Island Warfare | Radar Love |
There’s a wide range of gameplay modes available. Assault, Blitzkreig, Rocket Riot, Capture the Statue, King of the Hill and Domination have all been seen before. Transport them into the gorgeous world of Multiwinia and it feels fresh, unforeseen before. It feels perfectly suited for what the game offers. You can’t get confused with your aim and there are plenty of [increasingly] difficult levels to get your practice in.
MULTIWINIA: SURVIVAL OF THE FLATTEST VERDICT
The raw-fun factor goes into overdrive when you venture onto the internet to play against your friends. The game’s as fun as the competent AI will let it be, but factor in a working, adapting human mind and you’ll struggle, laugh, strategise and love every second of Multiwinia. It’s a game that you can come back to at any point. Each scenario / game mode plays out differently every time. A true triumph. Buy it; the developers deserve some cash for their outstanding hard work.
TOP GAME MOMENT
There isn’t one, it’s as complete as they come.
