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Multiwinia

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ESRB: None required
Publisher: Introversion Software
Genre(s): Strategy
Home Page: http://www.introversion.co.uk/mult...

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By: Jarno Kokko Nov 04, 2008

Different!

Tons of little guys getting torn up by the fixed defenses.

Multiwinia is different - so different that many gamers just won't get it. It can be difficult to understand what's so great about little flat dudes blowing each other up when you could be playing something like World in Conflict or Red Alert 3 where far more realistic soldiers get blown up with far better graphics. The key is the underlying gameplay - Multiwinia can't hide gameplay issues behind shiny visuals or "realism", it has to be a fun game to play. It mostly succeeds in that, being the first real time strategy title in a long time that I found interesting to play. It's simple and easy to pick up and play, yet gets pretty complicated in multiplayer, especially when you toss in scenarios where you have more than two sides battling it out.

Multiwinia is not perfect - the visuals could be better, there could be more maps, and the variants are so different that the learning curve to master them all to a degree that you won't get immediately destroyed in online play can be a challenge. Crates both help and hinder here - a lucky crate or two can alter the battle and give a weaker player a chance even when he's still learning the ropes, but it can be frustrating to lose a "sure thing" simply because your opponent got lucky. Small problems, and the low price point must be also taken into account.

In summary, Multiwinia is great fun in small doses, against human opponents. It's especially good when played in a LAN environment - the same random factor that can be so annoying in serious competitive play creates great comedy for social play. Considering the price tag, Multiwinia is definitely a good deal and while I personally enjoyed DEFCON a lot more due to the subject matter, Multiwinia does prove that it wasn't just a fluke. Can't wait to see what Introversion can come up with next.

Summary of YouGamers Hardware Testing

The publisher of this game state the following specifications for their minimum and recommended requirements:

Component	Publisher's Minimum	Publisher's Recommended
Processor	2.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent	Not specified
Memory	512 MB
Graphics Card	DirectX 9 video card w/Shader Model 2.0
Graphics Card Example	NVIDIA GeForce 6200 / ATI Radeon 8500
Free Disk Space	100 MB
Net Link	Broadband

To learn more about how YouGamers performs its hardware testing, click here. Through our extensive gameplay and hardware testing across the full spectrum of PC configurations, YouGamers suggests that one should use the following guidelines for an appropriate minimum and recommended setup:

Component	YouGamers Minimum	YouGamers Recommended
Processor	AMD Athlon 64 2800+ / Intel Pentium 4 2800 MHz	AMD Athlon 64 2800+ / Intel Pentium 4 2800Mhz
Memory	512 MB	1024 MB
Graphics Card	ATI Radeon X1050 / NVIDIA GeForce 6200 128MB	ATI Radeon HD 2400 256MB / NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB
Free Disk Space	100 MB	100 MB
Net Link	Broadband	Broadband

Scores

To learn more about our scoring methodology, please click here.

Gameplay	87	At first, looks like "just a simple RTS", but well thought-out elements combine to provide gameplay that is ultimately far more complex that the sum of it's parts.
Graphics	80	Simple and functional. What's there is done with style and consistency.
Audio	75	Minimalistic audio that fits for the game.
Technology	85	Stable, runs on almost any hardware while providing some visual tricks for faster systems.

OVERALL

Fun little RTS on the cheap, proving that creativity can't be declared extinct just yet - even in this day and age of multi-million dollar game budgets. Best when played against human opponents.

Multiwinia is available as digital download. You can get the game either via the official site (boxed version also available), or through digital distribution services (for example, from Steam). There is a free downloadable multiplayer-enabled demo also available.

If you would like to comment on this review or discuss the game further, please head over to our discussion board - please click here (registration not required).