I’m going to talk about an indie game called Reprisal, but first some theology. In the recent past, From Dust came out and it wasn’t Populous. It wasn’t even Populous with iffy controls, it steadfastly refused to be Populous at all despite being based around Godlike powers and terrain manipulation. Before that, Black and White came out and flirted with the idea of being Populous but then decided it would just be a bit like Populous with a lot more lobbing of poo and caressing of cows. Cardinal sins. Earlier still, Magic Carpet came into being and was actually incredibly similar to Populous, despite the fact the player controlled a wizard riding some flying fabric rather than an actual god of any sort. Heretical. Odd that despite its massive influence, much of Populous’ core remains its own. Now, electrolyte* have delivered unto us a mini-Populous for the browser. It’s in a pre-beta state but it’s playable for two short levels and, by God, it’s all rather lovely and nostalgic.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Posts Tagged ‘Populous’
Flattened Earth Society: Reprisal
By Adam Smith on September 7th, 2011.
20 Seconds to Comply
By Kieron Gillen on August 9th, 2007.
One of my quiet gaming obsessions is the concept of missing links. We all know the mainstream history of gaming (You know – the first RTS being Dune 2). Many of us will know the critical consensus-history of gaming (You know – the first RTS being the Megadrive’s Herzog Zwei). What interests me is the stuff both of those history leaves out – you know, what they’re forgetting about in order to make a simplified neater history. In that case, I dare say you can trace the RTS further back than Herzog Zwei if you like. At the least, you need to bring – say – Populous into the consideration. Sure, it doesn’t play in a way akin to how the genre gentrified… but neither, really, does Herzog Zwei.
Not in a trainspottery High-Fidelity-records-collector way. Well… at least not MOSTLY like that. But in a interest in how gloriously tangled the rainforest floor of gaming is.
Anyway – enough set up. On with 1991′s proto-First-person shooter Robocop 3′s awesome ED-209s!
Search
Read our finest words
Respond to our gibber
- sinister agent : “Despite your protestations to the contrary I doubt it would take any more time or effort than it took them to fly in Nolan North ...” on The Sunday Papers
- Kadayi : “@KG "I blew a deadline recently. Terminally blew it. First time in 25 years I've sighed and said, “I can't do this, and you won't ...” on The Sunday Papers
- RagingLion : “New Shut Up & Sit Down episode is out. That show really is the best. http://www.shutu~ They're on top form again.” on Cardboard Diaries: A Change Of Pace
- Consumatopia : “Likewise, people that complain about ‘lazy developers’ producing buggy games need to realise how the industry works. Publishers enforce release dates (NOT the developers), so ...” on The Sunday Papers
- Laephis : “99 times out of 100, when you see the word "entitlement" on the Internet, it's being misused in a ridiculous, pejorative sense. And it's a ...” on The Sunday Papers
