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Populous DS
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Graphics & Sound:
I can still recall the fanfare with which my family greeted the arrival of our new Laserdisc player, back in the '80s. I always think of this glorious, but short-lived gadget in moments when I see something being revived that should probably remain interred. Revered objects often have the veil of time hanging between them and us, and flaws tend to occupy those opaque areas of our vision. We want to remember the romance and excitement, not the problematic stuff. When faced with a relic, do we marvel at it like some Jurassic Park monster, or cringe...
If there's anything cringe-worthy about Populous DS, it's in the presentation category. Sure, we like it when retro gaming is authentic, and fans of the original will no doubt have something to crow about seeing Populous DS recreating the classic. The thing we wonder is whether fans of Galaga would buy a cartridge now that included nothing but that game, without feeling there should have been a few extra touches. Populous DS comes across as a game in need of a compilation. Later versions of the classic introduced more sophisticated graphics, and a wider variety of effects during battle. There's obviously a hard limit on how much can be included on a cartridge, but we'd still love to have seen a bit more in the way of extras. The gallery included does offer some background on the playable characters in the game, but nothing much beyond that to tip you off to the classic status this game holds for many people. The worst thing as an observer is the repetition, both with the graphics and the sound. Each major level is distinguished by a unique design, which keeps things interesting through at least the 10 maps included here. Animation triggered by use of special powers will be exciting at least a few times, and then will be something you click through and skip. The problem isn't so much that Populous DS shows a flawed face or lacks creativity, but that the field of games like this has expanded greatly over the past 20 years... |
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Gameplay:
Populous DS brings you back to the beginning of a genre, the God Game. Playing as a god was novel then and still has its unique qualities now. Unlike micromanaging RTS or turn-based games we see today, Populous DS takes a different approach. You have virtually no direct control in this game, and can't worry about exact execution. Instead, you must influence a population scattered across the world below you, to act on your behalf. This is accomplished with the same type of control we see now as common in any Strategy title, such as setting waypoints and prompting actions like building, gathering, or battling. The difference is that where any Strategy game now allows you to drill down to individual control or hotkey for squad/group control, Populous DS defaults to controlling an entire mass of people. No other option is available. You can play through a series of contests against an opponent controlled by the CPU in Challenge Mode, or face off against two, three, or four friends in Versus. Free-Play Mode is almost like the game's version of an editor, where you adjust everything to your needs in terms of the conditions for battle. You can also play a little treasure-hunt game in Free-Play that works a bit like "Where's Waldo" as you try to find a specific warrior using the game's map tool.
Thinking of Populous DS as an editor will take you a long way toward forming a mental picture of how the gameplay works. If you never played the original, but have tried your hand at editing a level in some game, you'll at least recognize the intention behind the design. In each level of the game, you play as a deity or god, with miraculous powers. These miracles aren't of the "Madonna on a taco" variety, but all the good Old Testamenty stuff like shaking earth, tsunamis, and straight-to-Oz F5 twisters. You can unleash these on your opponent, who is a demon of some sort, unless you're playing against one of your friends. The beneficial things you can do are to shape the land to encourage your followers to multiply. You can use this growing population to create an army that will push back the demon's and prepare for the last days (that's right, we're talking Armageddon here) when your people and those loyal to the demon will duke it out to the last man. The major take-away you're likely to have with Populous DS is along the lines of, "Where's the game?" It's a simple formula that spawned some great games like Black & White and had some pretty far-reaching influence on non-God-game games in the Strategy genre. Problem is, Populous DS does such a good job of conveying the past to the present, you may feel a bit like underwhelmed. The limited interaction and the rather repetitive flow of the game makes this a point-in-time experience rather than a re-release worth getting excited about.
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Difficulty:
Challenging another player or a few players is going to be the best way to bring home the true challenge that Populous DS is capable of delivering. Too much of the time while playing the CPU, Populous DS feels very one dimensional. There's already the tendency for the game to feel this way because of the very limited interaction you have below the level of unleashing attacks and terraforming . Playing the CPU is just a matter of being very aggressive and moving quickly so as not to lose your competitive advantage. No tricks or surprises will come your way in Challenge Mode, which isn't to say you can't enjoy playing this way. Versus will be the main reason you keep Populous DS around, even if you came thinking that you'd love to relive the old thrill. Using the controls isn't an exercise in itself, but maintaining the focus during some very repetitive sessions is where many gamers will fall off the wagon. The additional disappointment is in how long each level feels. You wouldn't think that playing just a few minutes would feel tedious, but nothing really exciting happens until you get to switch levels and face off against a new demon. The short story is: Buy this to play with friends, or take a pass altogether.
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Game Mechanics:
A high point in an otherwise mediocre experience, tight and intuitive controls are the name of the game in Populous DS. Using the touch-screen for navigating the game world, triggering miracles, and influencing followers would seem like a prescription for complicated controls. Instead, you'll learn the interface quickly and have no problem doing the right thing at the right time. Chalk this up to the good design in the original. The touch controls never get into motion, which would have been a departure from the original game. Touching the detailed view of the gameplay (Work Map) will trigger follower actions, or place your marker. You can navigate through the game's world by just tapping along the edge of the lower screen, or you can use the World Map to quickly navigate to a distant point. The latter comes in handy when you've been attacked and need to recover quickly by going to the affected area. Otherwise, you'll prefer using the Work Map, since it gives you a better chance of seeing exactly what you'll be doing with your miracles, and lets you highlight followers you want to get out and circulate. Actions you'll press your followers toward are somewhat vague in terms of how they should be used and when. A tutorial walks you through the basic actions in an interactive style, teaching you the actual controls. Even though you've been adequately prepared, it's hard at times to get your bearings in Populous DS and know what you should be doing from moment to moment. This leads to some distraction in a game that already has plenty of repetition, even when played well.
It may be blasphemy to say that there are some retro releases we'd be just as happy to skip. New versions of older games haven't all been stellar, but there are plenty that have made their mark by retaining the spirit of the old game under a shiny new wrapper that more fully leverages their platform's hardware and reflects the sensibilities of a modern gamer. Populous DS provides a great doorway to a piece of gaming that drew much attention, converted many real-world followers, and had a profound impact on game design in various genres. Saying this doesn't mean you'll spend endless hours, days, weeks, and months committing time to Populous DS. It's a nice release for players of the original that want to jump in the wayback machine, but the rest of us have a wider range of options, including several Strategy games that just carry bigger sticks than Populous DS. |
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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