Multiwinia

Early last week, I learned that Introversion Software had a new game coming out, Multiwinia. This was intriguing to me, as I had played the DEFCON demo and really enjoyed it. I never got around to buying the full version as I was too busy at the time. Multiwinia seemed interesting and fun, so I purchased a preload of it and got around to playing it when it was released on the 19th.

Multiwinia is a sequel to one of Introversion's earlier games, Darwinia. It is a sequel in the way that Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena were sequels, being focused towards multiplayer action. MW offers a single player mode, but I suspect that the real fun can be found online.

Gameplay is best described as Real-Time Strategy meets UT2004 meets Mario Kart. Your basic(and only)play unit is the Multiwinian, little more than a pixelated stick-man that you throw mass quantities of at your opponent. There is no resource collection or infrastructure building here as your Multiwinians will spawn at regular intervals from various points on the map. Controlling the Multiwinians is fairly simple and can be done in different ways. The first method is to use the mouse to select a group of Multiwinians with a typical RTS-style bubble selector. The second method is to promote a single Multiwinian to an Officer. Officers serve as your crowd control agents, either by directing all nearby traffic to a selected point on the map or leading a defensive formation.

There is no attack command; the Multiwinians will automatically attack all enemies in their presence with lasers and grenades. A defensive formation can serve as a wall to hold enemies back, but at the cost of vulnerable flanks and no grenade abilities. Battles are hectic and violent, and even resemble Total War at some points. From my observations of Multiwinians running away from grenade strikes or enemy formations, there may be a slight morale system. I'll have to watch more closely to be sure.

The six gameplay modes feature the kind of mission objectives that could be found in the more complex modes of an online shooter like UT2004. Maps range from small 2-player duels to large, 4-player maps. Time limits are present in most modes, ranging from 5 to 15 minutes.

Domination plays like a standard UT Onslaught game, with the purpose being the capture of spawn points. Unlike UT, the more spawns you capture, the more Multiwinians you will have to control. This is the most combat-oriented mode and probably will make up the bulk of MP games.

King of the Hill is very similar to Domination as spawn points can be captured to gain more soldiers, but points are awarded by occupying various score zones. It is another basic combat mode.

Capture the Statue features various giant statues spawned at designated points throughout the map. You must send Multiwinians to lift the giant statues and slowly transport them back to your base to score a point. Multitasking is important, as you must get your troops to the statues, secure a path back to your base, and have enough forces at the statue spawns to keep the statues moving back home.

Assault is the D-Day mode of the game, with one side defending a garrison while the other side attacks with far superior numbers and constant reinforcements. The focus is usually on establishing beachheads and taking turrets.

Rocket Riot plays like some of the more complex Assault levels of the UT series. The objective is to launch a giant rocket located at your home base. First, you must conquer solar panels strewn throughout the map. These will power fuel pumps that will fully fuel your rocket after a while. Once this has succeeded, you have to load your rocket with Multiwinians and successfully protect it from the enemy long enough for it to launch.

Blitzkrieg is a more complex version of Domination, with spawn points linked together by various lines. In order to defeat an opponent, you must take points that fully link your base to the enemy's.

I also mentioned Mario Kart. During gameplay, crates slowly fall from the sky containing powerups. Once crates land, groups of Multiwinians can be sent to them and will open them after a while. These crates contain a plethora of ridiculous spell-type weapons that can be used to ruin the enemy's day. Examples would be "Ant's Nest", which spawns a nest of vicious ants that grab Multiwinians and drag them into their anthill, and "Nuclear Barrage" which causes the DEFCON submarines to surface and launch missiles at a selected target. Crates can also contain negative things, such as giant spiders that will attack the units you sent to open the crate.

As if this didn't make the game chaotic enough, various random events occur during gameplay. Futurewinians can arrive in giant UFO that sucks up whatever lies below, a Plague can break out at your spawn point, Triffids may attack, or many other horrid things can happen.

With no real cavalry or artillery, the crates and random events are needed to help break tactical deadlocks. They do a fairly good job of this, but add a degree of luck to winning the games. This is not a game-breaker, as most games are only 10 minutes long and you can get many games played in one gaming session.

The graphics are unapologetically retro, and do not feature any heavy details. This does not make them bad, however. The details of individual soldiers and grass blades are lost when viewing from high above the battlefield, and this is the position you will be using most of the time. At this height, the graphics work holistically, showing a frenetic mass battle full of laser bolts and explosions. These simple graphics also allow the game to run on aging systems, such as my Athlon 64 3200+.

I've not played the game long enough to find any serious gripes about it. One gripe I do have is that it violates Gamers' Bill of Rights Item 9, meaning that it must be connected to the internet even to play a botmatch. Also, if you wait too long in the botmatch game setup, humans will be able to join your game. Since I cannot block the 'net and play, I have not been able to fully explore the "Advanced Options" menu. Another small gripe is that the commands cannot be customized. They are very simple and require only directional keys, "c" and the spacebar, but the option of customization would be preferred.

So far the game has been enjoyable to play, and should be considered by anyone looking for some quick RTS-style fun.