Darwinia

The setting behind Darwinia is quite the masterpiece too. The basic storyline consists of a Dr Sepulveda who constructs a virtual theme park inhabited by a little green sentient evolving life form called the Darwinians. However, the systems of Darwinia are over-run by an evil viral infection, in the guise of little red Virii, and it's your task to push these evil forces back, and restore Darwinia to it's former glory. While it might sound initially moderately cliché, it's this technological twist to everything, combined with the unique aesthetics that brings about a truly new experience.


Extra praise needs to given to the soundtrack behind the title. The opening sequence of the game in particular is quite incredible, dma-sc (the mind behind that particular track) using simplistic synthesised tones to create what truly feels like the music that used to accompany may gaming titles, back in the day when most soundtracks weren't of the American pop-rock style that populates today's big budget behemoths. Each and every single piece of sound fits the game like a glove, combining with the graphics so eloquently which makes us wonder just why so few other developers seem able to manage it with such aplomb.

Conclusion

It's the fact that there's so little to Darwinia's detriment that makes it so essential. Introversion have shown that you don't need flashy realistic aesthetics, a high priced soundtrack, and a complicated mish-mash of button presses to give us gamers a truly wondrous and involving experience. There's an alarmingly few titles out there that can make you care for even the central character, but Darwinia leaves you dejected at every single little Darwinian that perishes. This is one game that simply has to be played.