It may not be as memorable or high-quality as DEFCON, but Multiwinia still gets enough right to stand on its own.
It isn't nearly as good as DEFCON was, but Multiwinia still gets enough right to be recommendable.
Multiwinia offers a total of 6 gameplay modes for up to 4 players (Either human or AI controlled). There is Domination (might as well be a deathmatch), King of the Hill, Capture the Statue(Essentially capture the flag), Assault, Rocket Riot, and Blitzkrieg. This may sound like a decent ammount of modes, but the problem here is that several of the modes are actually way too similar to each other. For example, Rocket Riot might as well just be a more complex version of King of the Hill.
As similar as the modes may be however, they're all fun thanks to Multiwinia's hectic gameplay mechanics. You can command your multiwinians either directly or by creating officers to direct them somewhere.
The basic selection of multiwinians can actually take a little getting used to if your used to clicking-and-dragging, which isn't used in Multiwinia. Instead, when you click and hold somewhere, a circle starts expanding outward, and any multiwinians in the circle are selected.
Yes, it is notable that it feels like Multiwinia was designed as a console-RTS, but this isn't a problem, because it doesn't take long to get used to this different selection scheme.
The main twist offered by Multiwinia are it's crates, which offer players a number of powerups such as nuke barrages (courtesy of DEFCON's Subs), air strikes, virus eggs, dark forests, and more. It's these crates that spice up Multiwinia's gameplay to a substantial degree, without completely unbalancing the game. While they can be turned off, Multiwinia would have probably been a bit more boring without them.
Graphically, Multiwinia looks almost exactly like Darwinia did when it was released. This isn't necesairly a bad thing, Multiwinia still gets to benefit from Darwinia's unique style and as a result, looks decent. Multiwinia also uses the exact same sounds that Darwinia used.
Ultimately, Multiwinia suffers from it's relatively disappointing selection of modes, but makes up for it with some hectic and enjoyable gameplay. If you just want a bargain priced RTS, Multiwinia is easily worth checking out.
Pros:
-Hectic, enjoyable gameplay
-Stylish graphics
-Decent ammount of modes
-Decent AI
-Bargain price tag
Cons:
-Modes are a bit too similar to each other.
-No dedicated single player mode
Nitpicks:
-Has obviously been designed as a console RTS- but I'm not complaining. (It is being released for 360 at least)
Recommendable for: Hardcore RTS gamers may be turned off by Multiwinia's relative simplicity, but the game mostly makes up for this with how hectic it is. Casual gamers looking for a bargain priced RTS should not miss out on Multiwinia (It would also probably make for a great gateway RTS game)