Every once in a while, in the history of video games, there will be one or two games that are particularly notable. Of course, many other games also try to be the same by having a huge helping of hype, but so rare few of this actually succeeded in delivering what they promised.
Giants: Citizen Kabuto had appeared to be one such game. Being published by then-strong (and very haughty) Interplay and having a peculiar title whose meaning actually has little significance to the gameplay other than the namesake monster (which happens to be one of the playable characters), this game appeared to be one more heavily hyped-up title.
This was especially so when the loud promise of a fun and fantastic hybrid of genres is considered. It was a promise that the more cynical would have scoffed at, as there was no game that had successfully mixed the strategy, action adventure, shooter and – oddly enough - giant-monster genres together.
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise for both cynics and the more easily convinced (to use a less insulting phrase) that Giants: Citizen Kabuto had enough caliber in game design to deliver on that promise.
A witty intro scene reveals that the game's premise is flavored with developer Planet Moon Studios' sense of humour right from the start, and is then followed by the main menu, which shows a panorama of the best-looking locales in the game, if only to show off the game's art design and its graphics very early on.
The single-player portion of the story involves a bunch of space-faring wanderers, who are called the Meccaryns, stumbling onto an alien planet - simply known as the 'Island' due to its main continental mass - which is inhabited by amphibious beings known as Sea Reapers. From here, the story explores the interaction between these two races, including their physical conflict with each other, and their common feud with the marauding, one-of-a-kind giant monster known as Kabuto.
The story also showcases the story writers' wit and sense of humour; there are plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes in the game, including parodies of poignant scenes in famous (or infamous) movies and pokes at the infatuation with ridiculously big guns in the sci-fi sub-genre of games of the shooter category.
The story also serves to showcase the different gameplay of the three races, starting with the Meccaryns, which then transits (usually with a very humourous exposition of a plot twist,) to the other two. Each segment of the game appears to cover just about every nuance of the gameplay specifically relevant to each race.
The first segment of the story does not have much in the way of locating health-recovering pick-ups for the player character. This is especially so in levels where there are bases to be built, in which the player has to resort to retreating back to base if only to restore health.
The second segment is harder than the first segment, but only because the Sea Reaper player character (which is actually a more advanced and magical generation of the Sea Reaper race) is a much tougher individual for reasons that will be explained later.
The last segment - which involves the titular giant monster - is comparatively too short compared to the previous two and it is also the most difficult, though it is balanced by the great power of this player character. The shortness can be understandable, considering that there is not much story to be explored when the player character is a giant monster that is mainly concerned with smashing and eating its enemies. (The game also pokes fun at this fact as well.)
Even the finale of the story appears to concern a certain gameplay design, specifically that involving the gigantic player character.
One can say that the single-player segment of the game prepares the player for the multiplayer.
As for the gameplay of the game, it has been mentioned earlier that there are three races, each with its own distinct sort of gameplay. The Meccaryns are perhaps the most similar to veteran video game consumers at the time, with their predilection towards sci-fi guns and bombs (grenades included).
Most of the guns appear to be standard shooter fare: there are rapid-firing gatlings, guns that are effectively sniper rifles and a big gun that fulfills the role of a bombardier. In the single-player segment, some of these guns are needed to get through certain situations in some missions that would otherwise have been too frustrating to complete without them. Unfortunately, the game does not give any hints on the optimal load-out, leaving the player to stumble on the best combination.
Considering that all it takes for the game-over screen to be triggered is the main player character dying, and that he is not really that tough anyway, some missions can be a hair-tearer. Moreover, only the main player character, the leader of the band of five Meccaryns, may use weapons other than their default laser pistols.
(On the other hand, his four other compatriots can be taken out multiple times, taking a few minutes to return to the action after being incapacitated and having their models removed from play. However, they do appear to have a limited number of lives, which the game does not warn the player about in its documentation.)
Fortunately, most of the weapons that the Meccaryns have are easy to use, thanks to special firing modes that some of the less straight-forward weapons have that accommodate their use.
In multiplayer, it is obvious that only Meccaryns may use these guns, but the other two races have their own counter-measures to protect themselves from their otherwise devastating firepower.
On-foot, Meccaryns have comparatively terrible mobility compared to the other two categories of player characters. They are relatively slow and can be cut down very easily if players of the other two races managed to close the distance. Therefore, to balance their weakness in mobility, the Meccaryns have been granted jetpacks by default, which allows them to boost themselves upwards or sideways or other directions for a respectable distance (though they cannot switch direction in mid-flight so easily).
In the single-player story, the other Meccaryns other than the main player character have unlimited jetpack boost time. This is actually a crutch for their understandably limited AI, which has some issues in traversing the more unruly of the topographies on the Island planet. If the other Meccaryns get separated, they tend to simply just fly back in next to the player character. Instances of them being lost are very rare, though when these happen, the game simply kills them off, which can be annoying.
In addition to guns and explosives, the Meccaryns can also choose to carry special "backpacks". One of them is an upgrade to the jetpack, which practically allows the Meccaryn player to fly almost indefinitely, though it does not make him speedier and more nimble in the air. Other backpacks serve more situational purposes and have to be activated manually.
An example is as a camouflage backpack that, when activated, changes the model of the Meccaryn player into a leafy terrain model, like a shrub. In single-player, this pack allows the player character to fool AI-controlled enemies, though its efficacy in multiplayer is not as strong, due to the apparent visual oddity of a terrain feature sliding across the ground. This is especially so in maps where such plant-based terrain features are rare. (However, the pack does randomize between terrain doo-dads that are unique to the terrain of the map in play.)
Another example of backpacks is a big bomb that is intended for the annihilation of enemy bases, which happen to be mission objectives in the single-player campaign, and that also sees use in multiplayer.
To balance against the situational usage of these otherwise highly effective packs, they tend to have models that obviously indicate their purpose immediately to any on-looker (except the AI of course).
The Sea Reapers play a bit similarly, though the similarity ends in that they have regular-sized models. Compared to the Meccaryns, Sea Reapers move faster on land and are much tougher player characters. They are also the only characters that can swim, and thus bodies of water open up some tactical possibilities to them. However, they are rendered quite defenseless in the water - a game design that the game does not inform the player about in its documentation or in-game tutorial - leaving them vulnerable to enemy fire unless the player is quick to swim behind cover.
In addition to swimming, Sea Reapers also can trigger a burst of speed overland to quickly get to where they want to go to - or to close the distance between them and enemies quickly. This makes Sea Reapers very adept at quick, lethal strikes and speedy get-aways.
For offensive capability, the Sea Reaper has a sword and a bow, as well as a repertoire of spells. The Sea Reapers' default attack is their swordplay, which can quickly make short work of any enemy - if they manage to corner him/her/it, of course, and assuming said enemy is not Kabuto.
The Sea Reapers' equivalents of the guns that the Meccaryns have are in the form of special arrows. Sea Reapers cannot run out of ammo for the default arrow, but the rest require restocking.
All arrows require direct hits on enemy targets for their effects to play out. (This is also another game design that the game does not inform the player of, but it should be apparent to any player of adequate game-playing experience.)
The Sea Reaper player character's most powerful ability is to cast spells. Unlike arrows, which mostly serve purposes of combat (and even these are very straight-forward), the Sea Reaper's spells are the signature moves of the Sea Reapers. The Sea Reaper may conjure fire storms, summon a devastating tornado and bring other kinds of ruinous spells onto the battlefield.
Kabuto is actually the player character that is the most difficult to play, mainly due to its variable sizes and the abilities that are dependent on them. Kabuto generally starts the game with a small size, both in the single-player campaign and in multiplayer matches. It is most vulnerable to extermination during this stage, but Kabuto is much harder to detect (by virtue of being small) and can move tremendously fast.
Growing larger increases Kabuto's durability and speed (by virtue of having a larger step), as well as increasing its power. In the single player campaign (and some special multiplayer maps), there are obstacles that Kabuto can smash through, giving it a new access route through a map. As it gains in size, it also unlocks new abilities, such as the capability to simply grab and render helpless any regular-sized enemy. This enemy can then be eaten for some health recovery, thrown at targets (for a very satisfying splat) or stabbed into one of Kabuto's bodily spikes for later consumption (or throwing).
In fact, once Kabuto has achieved a formidable size, it can survive withering fire from many regular-sized enemies by simply wading among them and eating them one after another.
Achieving maximum size allows Kabuto to lay eggs, which hatch into what appear to be pitifully deficient variants of Kabuto. While they obviously lack much of Kabuto's power in its prime, they are still more than a match for the other player characters and are still capable of absorbing a lot of fire that is intended for Kabuto instead.
To balance against Kabuto's power, the game makes certain that there can ever be only one Kabuto (with the exception of the single-player story, the reason for which will not be explained as it is considered a spoiler).
Also, once Kabuto has reached tremendous sizes, it no longer has the luxury of hiding. In multiplayer, the graphics of the game will always draw Kabuto, or at least its silhouette, into the map, if it is within draw distance. Moreover, Kabuto will always appear on the minimap in the user interface and the full map once it has reached a formidable size.
In addition, Kabuto and its offsprings each have a small, weak point in their belly; any attack that hit these spots exactly will do tremendously more damage than they would had if they had hit elsewhere. The game's graphics make certain that these weak points will always be visible and have high contrast - albeit small size.
Nevertheless, despite these drawbacks, playing as Kabuto can offer a lot of literally smashing glee.
Unfortunately, as fun as playing Kabuto is, its section in the single-player segment is the shortest (as mentioned earlier) and also, ironically, the least interesting. There is little to do but to grow to the next size and then smash through enemies and obstacles.
On their own, the gameplay designs for these three kinds of player characters would have made for an already above average game, though such designs are not exactly original in themes or technicals. What made the game especially unique is the coupling of these designs - which would be at home with an action adventure game - with elements of real-time strategy.
If it is not apparent already, all player characters require the means to do what they can do: Meccaryns require sources of weapons and the munitions to arm them, Sea Reapers require magical energy and arrows for their offensive capabilities and Kabuto needs, well, special food to grow. This need is fulfilled by the Meccaryns' and Sea Reapers' ability to build bases; Kabuto needs only to know where to go to hunt.
The Meccaryns expectedly build bases that are fortified with concrete and sci-fi force fields, which they can then furnish with armories and the helipad for the creation of their devastating gyrocopter. The Sea Reapers, in contrast, raise bases that are of more arcane and magical designs, which they then fill out with equally magical forges for their arrows and spells.
Regardless of the nuances of any of the three races, they all require two major resources: Smarties and Vimps. Both creatures are natives of the Island; the former is a sentient race of intelligent but also terrifically idiotic diminutives that resemble ET of Steven Spielberg fame, while the latter are completely instinct-driven creatures that are naturally meant to be eaten.
In the story, the Smarties are either important characters (as in the case of the pivotal Smarty individuals who serve the role of mentors for the main player characters) or act as sources of comedy (as mentioned earlier, they can be entertainingly idiotic). In any case, the story-writers had done a good job of designing their lore to be relevant to the gameplay designs; to most players, their presence would not feel out of place, despite their generally whimsical appearance.
In-game, they exist as individuals who wander around in maps practically doing nothing until player characters come across them. They perform amusing animations whenever the latter comes over; they wave and hop up-and-down to catch the attention of Meccaryns and Sea Reapers, in eager anticipation of the comfortable lives that they would have if these player characters retrieve them and return them to their respective bases.
Of course, they run willy-nilly, screaming in terror all the way, if Kabuto comes over – for very good reasons.
The lucky Smarties who are returned to the bases of Sea Reapers and Meccaryns would promptly set up dens of vice for their perusal, if there isn't one already. These buildings have hilarious appearances and animations, and also serve as a command center of sorts. The Smarties are also needed to construct buildings, and certain building options will only be available after a certain number of Smarties has been obtained.
Visiting the pub – the Meccaryns' version of their "command center" - will show the Smarties having a great time getting filled up with beer and Vimp meat (more on this later), though they will, humourously enough, hush up and turn towards the camera in anticipation of being picked out for the construction of a new building in the Meccaryn base.
Visiting the Sea Reapers' equivalent shows them having a similarly great time sating their addiction to Vimp soul energy.
As for their purpose with respect to Kabuto, Kabuto needs the essential minerals and proteins that they provide in order to grow to the next size. Achieving full size diverts these nutrients over to the creation of eggs for Kabuto lay instead.
Raising new buildings is a simple affair for Meccaryns and Sea Reapers; the player character selects a location in the base, and the Smarty chosen for the task scoots over there to raise the building in mere moments, though waiting for them to get there can be an unnecessary pain that could have been averted if the game designers had simply dropped them over at the location concerned instantly. This is not a game that would suffer from a sense of disbelief after all.
If there was an animal equivalent of pasture grass, Vimps would be that. Vimps are canonically aimless creatures who roam around in herds while naturally absorbing the life energy of the planet, getting bigger gradually and automatically. Their canonical lore also means that they re-appear spontaneously if they have been rendered extinct in a region of a map, conveniently enough for the game designers.
All player characters need only hunt down these creatures and slay them, though they do have the intelligence to know that they should be avoiding any other creature, which would after all be there to benefit from their culling. Also in another convenient game design, the biggest of them are slovenly creatures that are very easy to corner. Killing them causes them to explode into meaty chunks, which can be collected by Meccaryns, and they also leave behind corporeal souls, which can be collected by Sea Reapers.
There is an exception to this occurrence of course; if Kabuto slays them through eating, there will be nothing left for player characters of the other two factions.
This peculiar game design of having slain Vimps being reduced to both kinds of resources, if they are not eaten by Kabuto, meant that in multiplayer, these two factions may consider having a truce if they know that the Kabuto player is a devastatingly skilled one. This is a game design that helps make multiplayer less intimidating – at least for players who are not playing as a murderous giant.
The remains of slain Vimps, when returned to the bases of Sea Reapers or Meccaryns, power their buildings of vice. Vimp meat and souls energize Smarties so that they can build buildings and vehicles. There is no gameplay difference between these two resources, but there are funny visual contrasts. (Any player would be hard-pressed to stifle a snicker when they notice how Smarties eat Vimp meat and how they consume Vimp souls.)
Base-building is a game feature that is included in some of the scenarios in the single-player campaign. For the rest, the player plays the game in the manner of an action-adventure game. The enemies and obstacles in the path of the player appear to have been designed to encourage the player to take advantage of the strengths of the type of player character in control, as well as to remind the player of his/her/its weaknesses in a hands-on and painful way.
For example, there are rocks and fortresses that need to be wrecked apart with bombs or tornadoes, huge creatures that require careful shooting and terrain that can only be negotiated using the player characters' unique methods of mobility.
Having such varied gameplay requires a user interface that accommodates it. Surprisingly, the user interface is quite simple. There is a meter denoting health, and some counters denoting available ammunition and amounts of resources that have been retrieved. There are also hotkeys for calling up the map and toggling between the full display of the interface or a less cluttered one. (The full one is still not visually intrusive, anyway.)
The multiplayer segment of the game has deliberate gameplay limitations: there can be up to five Meccaryn players, three Sea Reapers and one Kabuto. This is of course to balance out the gameplay differences of these player characters. The gameplay modes available would be familiar to veterans of real-time strategy games: there are free-for-alls (with or without bases) and capture-the-flag (bases are required). There is not much variety in game modes, but the game's effective blend of third-person action and real-time strategy gameplay elements are enough to make any match interesting – at least for a game of its time.
Being set on an oceanic planet with sporadic distribution of islands meant that this game has to have scenic vistas to look at – and it certainly does. Skyboxes in this game are particularly great to behold, as does anything else far away in the horizon.
Terrain that is up-close is a bit less impressive, however. Some maps appear to be quite bland and sparse, though this is explained away using the canonical design of the Island's ecosystem as an excuse; for example, Vimps fulfill the role of self-sufficient organisms at the bottom of the Island's food chain, so there is not much foliage to be found in most of the maps in the game. In fact, most maps can be considered to be merely bump-mapped and texture-mapped contours – which they really are, except more obviously so than in other games of the time featuring big maps.
Despite being quite bland, the terrain however is a showcase of the game's terrific lighting mechanics. Of course, only a powerful rig of that time could produce such visual splendor, but Giants: Citizen Kabuto boasted lighting quality that was quite up-to-date (for its time). The quality of lighting also affects in-game models as well, especially those for the magically-inclined Sea Reapers.
Models are intricately detailed (for a game of that time) and do not suffer much from close-up views. More importantly, most of them have significant contrast when placed next to each other, and they also stand out from the terrain; this is due to clever selections of colours and contours for models. (Having most of the characters in the game hardly resembling humans certainly helped the game designers in this endeavour.)
This accommodates gameplay in multiplayer, where spotting players is an important aspect of scouting.
The aforementioned ecosystem of the Island also gives the game designers a great excuse to implement a method of disposing the models of characters that have been slain. The forced disappearance of slain models, on the other hand, can be an entertaining sight.
The game having a sci-fi setting allows the game designers to create sound effects that are, of course, out of this world. Sci-fi guns and spells sound exactly like what they should sound like; there should be no complaints on these.
The game also has great voice-acting. Every race has its own peculiar tone quality: the Meccaryns' voice-overs suitably sound like they were emitted from speakers, the Sea Reapers have dual frequencies to theirs, the Smarties have wildly varying accents and Kabuto's roars are fittingly of the giant monster sort.
If there is a flaw to be had with the game's audio designs, that would be the lack of ambient sounds. As illustration, for a world with plenty of oceans, the Island lacks a lot of wave noises.
It would appear that Giants: Citizen Kabuto is an excellently crafted game. It is so, but it is a disappointment that such a game with fantastic gameplay designs was marred with launch-version bugs; there were many crashes, audio hiccups and video glitches in the first few months. A common bug had the model of the player character sinking into the game world, which is an automatic session-ender. Most of these bugs were fortunately patched later.
The desktop version's greatest flaw was the lack of a game-saving feature, which was never implemented in any update despite the later console versions having it. Considering that some single-player scenarios can take a while to complete due to staggering layers of defenses that the main antagonists in the story have in some maps (especially anti-air emplacements) and that a game-over occurs whenever the player character dies, the lack of a game-saving feature can be terribly frustrating.
Nevertheless, these bugs do not affect the main attraction of this game: its harmonized mixture of gameplay from different genres. Giants: Citizen Kabuto delivered on its promises of a gameplay experience involving multiple categories of games, and can be considered a yardstick for games in the future that would attempt to repeat such a feat.