I’m a fan of real time strategy games. However, most titles in this genre are the same thing. You have a base, you grow it out with other buildings and pump out cannon fodder like crazy. In single player campaigns it’s all about the Zerg rush, really. This all means that for a game to capture my attention there either has to be a great story or something unique to the gameplay. With Moduwar it’s definitely the latter.
I managed to get my hands on a demo build of Moduwar recently and I got the chance to try my hand at it. While there’s little in the way of story so far, it’s still worth playing. It’s just a tutorial mission that teaches you the basics, but from what I could tell there’s a real deep strategic potential here.
In short, Moduwar is a game about evolving a creature to defend itself and go on the offensive. Your “heart” is your home base. If it dies, you lose the game. Simple as that. Basically, it’s the “town hall” or whatever a typical RTS game uses. It’s up to you to build around it by expanding its mass and tossing upgrades on them. In a way, it’s similar to Zerg creep I guess.
There are resources you gather on your way by harvesting food sources and killing the enemy. But your entire base is mobile so be sure to have some mouths on the end to scoop up the goodness. But don’t make it all an Eldritch abomination with nothing but mouths. You do need to defend your creature. That’s where the offensive and defensive upgrades come into play. And the tutorial covers most of this.
The tutorial mission for Moduwar is pretty short but it continues after you learn everything about evolving and defending your “base”. Still, the way it all plays out is complicated enough that even seasoned RTS fans can find something in just this short slice. I honestly never completed the level in its entirety because my heart kept getting killed. But, it was still fun regardless.
Here’s the thing. Moduwar is very much unique in that it looks like it blends “god games” with real time strategy to create something unique and fresh in a genre that has mostly become stale. And it’s a veritable breath of fresh air. I don’t know much about the story, or even if there is one. But, like I said at the beginning of this review it’s not the only thing I look for in a game of this type. Unique gameplay is just as important.
I may not have been following the development of Moduwar like I really should have, but it’s probably something I should consider keeping an eye on. After all, I had a lot of fun with the demo. Would I play this game beyond a single player campaign? Probably not. But, from what I’ve experienced so far it’s definitely worth considering picking up once it’s finished.
