by Michael Eilers
[Note: this preview is based on an early Alpha release of this game, as are the screenshots. This game is not a finished product, and this does not constitute a review of the game itself.]
The Mac gaming community has come to expect Very Big Things from Brian Greenstone, head programmer for Pangea Software. A former Apple engineer who helped to create QuickDraw 3D, he has never thought small, nor in two dimensions. Creator of the amazing 3D action game Nanosaur, he demonstrated that you can get amazing visuals and thrilling action from an iMac with a 2 MB video card.
Now he brings those skills to his next project: Bugdom. Taking some Very Small Bugs and doing Very Big Things with them, this action/puzzle hybrid looks, plays and “feels” like no game I’ve played before. Taking basic cues from Nanosaur—third-person view, a quest of salvation, 3D landscape full of beasties—and bringing them to the kingdom of the insects, Bugdom is a colorful flight of fancy straight through the looking-glass.
Bug for a Day
You assume control of the protagonist, Rollie McFly, an insect of the pillbug variety. Your quest is simple: survive, and while you are at it rescue all the lady bugs that have been trapped by the evil Ant King, Thorax. If you manage to defeat him, you will take his place as King of the Bugdom. Your quest will lead you through gardens, ponds, forests, beehives, and anthills—all of it rendered in realtime 3D graphics with gorgeous color and textures.
Rollie is quite a talented bug—not only can he walk upright(!) and jump quite high, he can swim, let loose with a good kick, and roll into a “ball” to help him bonk his enemies into submission. Enemies? Oh yes, Rollie has those in spades, from Ants to Boxer Flies to Toxic Gas Roaches.
Gameplay is deceptively simple. You wander the countryside, bonking enemies, cracking open bonus walnuts and collecting their prizes, and setting ladybugs free. Occasionally a gate will block your way; you then need to find a key color-coded to match that door so you can proceed. Finding these keys can be quite a challenge, in the intricate, rolling landscapes choked with flowers and plants.
I said deceptively simple because this is anything -but- a simple game. There are elements of strategy, action and puzzle-solving involved, from finding out how to board the taxi to learning the best way to avoid the blood-sucking mosquitos to battling a horde of attacking Ants and Boxer Flies with nothing but your wits and a swift kick or three.
That is One Gorgeous Anthill!
The landscapes themselves are a sight to behold. Like Nanosaur before it, Bugdom requires QuickDraw 3D acceleration in the form of an ATI Rage chipset (II, Pro, or 128). Your compensation for meeting these requirements is some of the most amazing visuals I’ve ever seen on the Mac platform. Realtime lens flares, glowing explosions, water ripples, distance hazing, transparent fire, smoke, splashes and water—I could go on. This may be a cute bug game, but it has some serious gaming technology behind it.
The levels themselves are enormous, scrolling off into the distance for what seems to be miles. Decorated extensively with foliage, flowers, hills, dales and puddles, the level design is top-notch; there seems to be a good balance between frantic action and quiet exploration. Secret areas abound, of course, no surprise to veteran Nanosaur players. Every time I thought I was about to get bored or jaded, I rounded yet another corner and found something to make my jaw dangle. The visuals alone set this game in a class by itself.
These Ants Will Ruin More Than Your Picnic...
The characters themselves are expertly modeled and whimsically designed by Toucan Studio, Inc. Cartoonish and yet full of rich detail, these adorable, humanized bugs are sure to remind you of the upright-walking, talking insects of Pixar’s brilliant A Bug’s Life and the less-interesting Antz by Dreamworks. However, the insects of Bugdom mean business! They are out to get Rollie in a very single-minded fashion, and use many nasty means (from crude spears to rocks to massive jaws) to stamp him out, so to speak.
Also threatening Rollie’s bugxistence are such natural hazards as bug-eating pond fish, slugs (eew!), huge stomping human feet (shades of Monty Python) and sticky honey. Your only defence are the power-ups provided by the many walnuts scattered throughout the levels, such as health berries, invulnerability, Buddy Bugs (small friends who follow you and attack enemies on command) and extra “ball time.”
Combat itself is very interesting. I don’t want to say too much about this, as the game is still Alpha and being actively tweaked by Brian on a daily basis, but kicking bug butt is currently really fun. By rolling into a ball you can rocket around the level much like a pinball, knocking enemies left and right like tenpins. However your ball time is limited, so you have to save this for the right moment. Some enemies go down with one kick, like Boxer Flies; others require multiple kicks or more creative attacks. Some enemies can’t be attacked at all, and must be avoided. The third-person perspective of the game makes aiming and dodging a little more difficult, but I found the learning curve very short, a testament to the extensive fine-tuning Brian and Pangea Software have already done.
A Bug Even My Mother Could Love
Bugdom is an extremely rare type of game. Not only does it showcase ground-breaking visuals and game play, it manages that most difficult feat of feats: it is a true crossover game, playable by both child and adult, male and female. By blending whimsy and color with action and exploration, this game seems to have something for everyone; frankly, I found it damn near hypnotic. The combination of the colorful graphics, the wonderful background music, the complex levels and the resulting memory tests as you rack your brains trying to remember where that orange key was - magical.
And the truth is, everyone I have showed this game to, young and old, couldn’t resist sitting down and watching Rollie KO boxer flies and ride a dragonfly over a lush forest. Truly a game to look forward to, and best of all, it is Mac OS only. Don’t we deserve to keep a game this good all to ourselves, once and a while? Watch for the final version of Bugdom this June!
