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Darwinia

Hey, That Thing Looks Familiar … Kill the bugs invading the land.

Site: Darwinia
Publisher: Ambrosia Software
Developer: Introversion Software
Genre: Strategy

Spirits in the Digital World

Darwinia is the brainchild of Dr. Sepulveda, who designed an early computer called the Protologic 68000, only to see technical problems doom its launch in 1986. Sepulveda went into seclusion after the disaster, re-emerging two decades later with the news that he had linked thousands of Protologic computers together to create a virtual world populated by digital creatures he calls Darwinians.

When the game begins, you find yourself inside Darwinia. Dr. Sepulveda’s alarm over your arrival soon turns to the hope that you can help him. A virus, represented by insect-like red creatures that slither across the landscape, has infected Darwinia, and Dr. Sepulveda wants you to help him destroy it.

Dr. Sepulveda imbued the Darwinians with their own digital DNA, or what he calls their Spirits. Each Darwinian is a unique entity that can learn and grow, becoming more intelligent over time. When a Darwinian or viral agent dies, its Spirit can be collected and recycled by a central processor that parses the data and passes a new set of DNA to the next creature born in the realm.

More Than Meets the Eye

You can’t directly control the Darwinians, but you can create programs that protect them and build their defenses. Squads attack the virus while engineers reprogram buildings infested by the creatures, collect the Spirits of dead Darwinians and viral agents for recycling and capture research items that they can turn into new weapons or upgrades to existing items.

As you progress through the game and slowly take back Darwinia, you can create officers that control nearby Darwinians as well as armored craft that transport Darwinians and can turn into a stationary battle cannon when necessary. Control towers provide the hub for controlling nearby buildings while trunk ports connect different parts of Darwinia. All the trunk ports in the realm have been disabled by the virus when the game starts, but you can re-enable them by reprogramming nearby control towers.

Once you become immersed in Darwinia, however, you begin to learn that there’s more to the world than you were led to believe. In fact, they may not be as peaceful as they seem. But we’ll let you learn about that.

GooBall

From the Mouths of Creepy Creatures. Roll, little gooey alien, roll!

Site: GooBall
Publisher: Ambrosia Software
Developer: Over the Edge Entertainment
Genre: Action

A Sticky Situation

GooBall casts you in the role of an intergalactic traveler who crash lands on Earth after a wayward asteroid smashes into your ship. Without a precocious little kid, or even an eccentric like Jubal Harshaw, to come to your aid, you become the property of the CIA, who pluck you from the wreckage of your StratoSphere 2000.

Encased in a gooey ball designed to mimic the life-sustaining properties of your spaceship, you must roll through a series of challenges created by the CIA to see how well you grok this world. If you can survive all 60 of them, however, you hope you can break free from their control and figure out a way off this planet. Either that or find a nice spot to just get away from it all for a while.

Your GooBall includes a sticky mode that comes in handy when you need to climb walls or even stop yourself from falling over the edge of a game level, which will result in the loss off one life. You start the game with five lives and can earn an extra one for every ten gems you collect during your adventures. You only have a certain amount of time to finish each level, however, so don’t waste time trying to grab gems that are out of your reach. Remember: your government handlers want to judge your intelligence level.

Rely on Your Past

You play yourself in Darwinia, but in GooBall you step into the gloppy boots of an alien from another world. No matter which you choose, both games require you to learn as you play, figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Remember, though, that you have amassed a wealth of knowledge while playing previous strategy and arcade games. Use that experience to your advantage.

Darwinia and GooBall Media

System Requirements

Mac OS X version 10.2 or higher
GooBall: Radeon or GeForce video card

Tips and Tricks

Darwinia: A spider-like creature.

Controlling the Darwinians can be like herding cats. Officers can do the job, but be careful: they have a wide range of influence, which could cause Darwinians to die while trying to make their way to the officer. Such is their devotion to their leaders that they don’t tend to skirt around virii.
A building activates when you place a Darwinian in one of its alcoves. The more alcoves you fill with Darwinians, the more efficiently the building will operate.
Make sure you collect all Darwinian and viral agent Spirits. The virus can use them to regenerate itself by sending its spiders to lay empty eggs and fertilize them with the DNA found in the Spirits. (The virus actually consists of corrupted Darwinians, so the Spirits of both are compatible with each other.)

GooBall: GooBall rolling down an abstract bridge.

If you see yourself about to roll over the edge, switch to sticky mode and adhere yourself to the edge of the obstacle course. Then you can simply roll back up.
Of course, you can always use sticky mode to slow yourself down and stop the goo ball before it heads off a cliff.
Each level challenges you to complete it within a certain amount of time, so don’t waste precious seconds trying to grab a gem if you’re having trouble getting to it. Move on.

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By Brad Cook