Preview Game Kenangan The Adventures Of Darwin

Ah, evolution — to this day, it still sparks controversy and heated debates. Amid this storm of emotions, one game will rise to silence the arguments once and for all -- one game that proves evolution really happens when you find a ladder hidden in a big chest. Wrap your head around that one, Darwinists.

Okay, The Adventures of Darwin isn't the most factual game out there. However, it is surprisingly deep considering that it started its life as one of the Simple 2000 games (budget games sold at a budget price) in Japan. This means that the production values aren't exactly the most stellar, but you'll be able to pick it up for around twenty bucks. This is an important fact to keep in mind.

The mobile meat hunters of death ...

The game starts with a monkey named Darwin having a terrible dream about the fiery end of monkey-kind. Obviously, he feels that if he sets out to evolve his monkey tribe, all his friends will be saved. Survival of the fittest, so to speak. Luckily, he doesn't have to go it alone because four members of the tribe also decide to join him. It's here when you start to realize that this game borrows heavily from Pikmin. You directly control Darwin and the other monkeys follow you around. By looking at something and pushing X, you can then use them to fight enemies, solve simple puzzles or carry food and resources (wood, stone, iron, etc.) back to the village to upgrade it. This upgrading portion is a nice touch if not a little dull; it's basically the resource-gathering part of an RTS, only you have to do everything yourself. Based on what you bring back, new buildings will open up that provide new items and weapons. You can even invest in certain materials so they have a greater effect on the village.

Now this sounds pretty cool on paper, but the whole system is pretty random. You never know what will open up or how to unlock certain things, so it pretty much amounts to you bringing back a little bit of everything in hopes that it will do something (and usually it unlocks something you'll never use). Actually, the entire game has this problem; it just throws you into the game without explaining anything and it's up to you to figure out things yourself. There are some villagers that supposedly give you advice, but that usually amounts to useless phrases like (and I quote), "If you see something strange, approach it!"

... are good at what they do.

Luckily, the bulk of the game is spent in the field. Find a yellow star and a new guy is added to your team. Your primates can be killed off, but if you find a red star, one of your 'mates will pop back up (they can also be refreshed at the village). Pretty soon, you're commanding a large bunch of lackeys who can push down walls and go to new areas. Each level also has a boss who protects a special tool that gives you new abilities to reach the next level. Evolutions can also grant you new troop formations that can be triggered with R1 and R2, but these are largely useless so don't bother. Get used to the fact that your minions will get stuck on objects, randomly fall off into water (usually holding valuable resources) or disappear without reason. However, there's a nice satisfaction to building up your tribe into a mob of loyal servants who can rain stone arrows down on fire-breathing mammoths. Like Pikmin. Only without the arrows. And the mammoths.