Multiwinia

Strategy games usually require a lot of patience, tactics and well-thought out plans when it comes to assaulting the enemy players, since every unit is vital and they can only be effective if they are used properly. However, although this is what makes RTS titles popular among the fans of the genre, it can also be a bit too much for beginners or people who are not necessarily interested in managing every aspect of their army.

Multiwinia tries to settle this matter by making the gameplay far less complicated and increasing the fun meter by quite a lot in the process, while obviously letting go of many mechanics that are specific to the genre. The result is something that can be played by virtually everybody, with a very scalable difficulty level and plenty of depth available for those who require it, not to mention the copious amounts of fun that usually ensue during the matches.

As a concept, the game has a long list of inspirations, although the final product hardly resembles anything else out there. Your main purpose is to control armies of stick men and try to overpower your enemies, although the soldiers have a mind of their own and they just have to be nudged in the right direction, rather than being actively controlled at all times in order to maintain their stance. Basically, they automatically attack and fight the enemy soldiers as long as they are close enough to them, which leaves you free to tinker with the larger picture.

To diversify the gameplay, you can choose from a variety of game modes, such as king of the hill, capture the statue or assault. Each one of these has different end goals and dynamics, but the core mechanics are basically the same regardless of the chosen mode. The maps are also quite diverse and well-designed, with low-poly mountains, flat oceans and barely any vegetation at all. You won't be having any time to admire the landscape too much, however, since there is always some fighting to attend to.

As previously mentioned, the game does not really concern itself with beauty of high-resolution textures, since it puts all of its money on the gameplay. Hence, you are left with pretty retro-looking graphics, featuring hundreds of 2D stick figures constantly shooting and blasting each other. It doesn't look bad, mind you, although it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

As the game's tag line clearly indicates, Multiwinia is all about survival and fun, with nothing in-between to ruin the experience. Hence, thanks to the multitude of game modes, maps and special power-ups that spice up the gameplay, you should be kept entertained for long enough.