"This
is a subtle, complicated strategy game; one with a
structure that you can pick up in minutes, but with
a depth of play that will surprise you....Old school
graphics combined with a modern rendering engine.
Old school gameplay combined with sophisticated level
design. Recommended."
"Invention
is the art of nailing two things together which have
never been nailed together before. Introversion
Software, a small independent developer from the UK,
has taken several old gaming classics and combined
them into a new, fresh and highly addictive gaming
experience."
"Darwinia
gives us an impression just how much is really wrong
with mainstream games. If four people can make a game
like this then why do teams consisting of dozens of
people develop the same crap every year?"
"An
awesome experience and a really fresh game with gameplay
never seen before that still fits together... This
is what games should be like."
"Darwinia
is a game unlike any other, with a mixture of gameplay
elements that have been thrust together forming one
glorious gameplay experience that has to be played
to be believed."
"This
is the kind of game that everyone should at least
experience for themselves and that any self-respecting
gamer really should have as part of their collection.
In a world where the franchise and licensed product
reigns supreme and gigantic publishers stride around
with an arrogantly regurgatative attitude towards
games development that is steadily stripping gaming
of any sense of wonder that it once had, (breathe)
it is so utterly refreshing to play a title such as
Darwinia."
"To
me, this game gets my utmost respect, and even more
so towards the developers, who by sheer tenacity have
produced an intelligent and compelling game without
resorting to marketing gimmickry, licensed properties
or bandwagon-esque features. Instead, what you find
here is originality in droves, and that dear readers,
is something that our beloved industry desperately
needs to evolve, and what we urge you to experience."
"Forget
games with real-time physics. This is one has real-time
metaphysics."
"It's
this year's underground classic, this year's Rez,
this year's Ico, this year's... well, this year's
Darwinia. It's a game that justifies your sense of
your brilliance and gaming' sense of brilliance."
"Nothing,
and I mean nothing, compares to this game. I’ve
played a great deal of games in my day, and I cannot
remember when a game was more original than this."
"Darwinia
stands out because it's completely unique; a project
whose approach has not only never been done before,
but is unlikely to be repeated again."
"It's
a game every PC gamer should own, not matter what
genre interests you; the masterpiece from the independent
developer will be one to remember in the era of many
mediocre mainstream games from the big publishers."
"The
way the game adds small increments – a new move
or weapon or task has been brilliantly devised and
all the time you are playing you get help and feedback
from a chap that looks not unlike Mr Clive Sinclair
– you have to have been around in the 8 bit days
to appreciate this."
"Darwinia is
one of the most unique games that I have played in
a while. If you are looking for a unique game that
isn’t just a “cookie cutter” of the
most popular game out there, then look no further
than this game. You will not regret it."
"The
game is both simple fun and a unique blend of wonderful.
It reminds me of the good old days when creativity
reigned over marketing ploys and safe choices. Darwinia
is a great argument for keeping games in the hands
of creative developers with good ideas."
"Darwinia
is like an intravenous soma drip-feed directly to
your pleasure centres."
"Introversion
Software are both British and trailblazing. Let them
reforge this increasingly exhausted industry. You
will never have seen an overall game aesthetic quite
as luxurious and perfect. The game mechanics are pure
retro dynamite and convey the fluidity of the classics
with perfect sheen. The genre-blending makes for a
game paced, captivating, vexing and wholly charming."
"What
really ramps up the level of tedium though is the
fact that none of your units seem to have anything
even approaching a sensible level of AI, which pretty
much means you have to be constantly shepherding them
around."
"..at
the end of the day, we’re left with a fairly
annoying RTS title full of niggling and frustrating
bugs, poor design decisions, and pathfinding that
has dripped directly from the nose of Satan himself."
pick of the crop
