The gameplay is very exciting. This is the first game I’ve played in quite a while that really immersed me. This immersion is caused by the non-stop action. Your only chance to look away from the screen in this game is the very beginning, and if you do that, you might as well restart because the outcome is likely inevitable.

Regardless of the game mode, the core gameplay revolves around the controlling of the multiwinians. You always start off with a miniature “army” and, depending on the game mode, a spawn point. Instead of the standard drag-to-select style of RTS, Multiwinians are selected by holding down the mouse as a circle expands from the center. Selected units can then be directed to another location. While referring to controls, I want to mention that they are fairly easy to learn since your essential inputs are the mouse, WASD or arrows, and the tab key.

There is no way to upgrade Multiwinians. The game is focused more on tactical-action based; every decision you make has a huge impact on the outcome of the game and the earlier on you make a mistake the more likely you will fail.

Instead of upgrading, any and every Multiwinian can be selected and “promoted” to a commander that will either direct other Multiwinians to a destination point in an automated fashion, or lead a combat formation. Those two options make up a substantial part of your gameplay, as you must constantly create new formations at spawn points and send them into combat. In most cases  you will find yourself monitoring at least six formations simulataneously on separate areas of the map. This is where quick strategic thinking is required.

Power-ups are delivered in crates. The default drop period for crates is 40 seconds and crates drop at that rate with a 50% deviation. This means that every 20-60 seconds a crate will appear in the sky and begin to fall onto the map for Multiwinians to bite and scratch over. These powerups are totally sweet and have the potential to turn the tables really quick. Some of the powerups are nuke, ant nest, and gun turret.

Even cooler than gun turrets is Armour. These peaceful transportation-only vehicles can transport up to 100 Multiwinians at a time across any terrain and much more quickly since the tread is superior to flat non-aerodynamic legs.

As seen in the provided images, the visuals of Multiwinia are pretty neat. It’s a great way to get the best of both worlds; classic pixelated style graphics in a 3D environment. As mentioned earlier, the maps all have their own appearance to them, so your eyes will not get bored too quickly. Also, for those who are picky about colors, you are given the choice of four colors for your Multiwinians when setting up each game.

The sound is very fitting for the game. The ambient sound effects set a nice calm, yet eerie and chilling outer-space mood. There’s not really any background music, just the mentioned sound effects, but that is perfectly acceptable. The ambiance is great and the gameplay sound effects of the constant shooting, explosions, and chaos doesn’t really allow for music.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer is just as great as the single player mode. You won’t even notice a difference since the game is exactly the same except for the computer AI being replaced by humans. I experienced no lag at any point. Lobby chat is provided once you have joined a game to chat with your opponent(s) before the match begins….Continued on Page 3