Written by Mel Odom

The Adventures of Darwin operates on a simple concept: evolve or die. Unfortunately, even with a cute title and a very easy interface that allows the player to get into the game, it hasn’t followed its own rule.

Ten years ago, this would have been a great game to have. The video gaming industry was still relatively in its infancy (early evolution, so to speak). The idea of going out to collect things to get points was the way to go then. In The Adventures of Darwin the player has to go gather food and building materials to enhance his village and to evolve.

Quite frankly, evolution in the game just takes too long. Another drawback is that it is only a one-player game. My nine year old and I both played the game, and it might have been more interesting if we have been able to team play in some fashion. As it was, we both spent inordinate amounts of time trying to find everything we needed.

Even the new areas that open up in the game after you progress aren’t as interesting or interactive as they should be to be successful at this stage in video gaming. You can go in and talk to people, but you don’t find out anything that you wouldn’t have already figured out on your own. Then you go once more at into the field to collect raw materials and food. As you evolve, your onscreen image changes, growing steadily more and more human in appearance. You also find and learn to use tools that allow you to do more.

The video graphics are really weak. When it’s nighttime in the game, I couldn’t see well enough to get around. So I simply sat and waited. I discovered there was no penalty for waiting till it was light enough to see. However, the drawback was that I had a lot of dead time in the game while I was waiting for the sun to rise again.

Thankfully, the soundtrack wasn’t as nerve-wracking as the one for Mario Brothers, but that was only because it didn’t really stand out. Like much of the game, it wasn’t really memorable.

Patient players who are goal-oriented and love to take days to finish a game would probably like this one. However, I suspect most game players these days are more driven for the quick rewards and action of shooters and fast-paced RPGs.

My wife — who loves Pikman, its sequel, and the fact that it takes a long time to finish the game while doing repetitive play — couldn’t really get interested in this one either. The idea is sound, the game playing and structure are sound, but the rewards don’t come quick enough. A patient player who’s determined to see the game through to the end might enjoy this one.

Mel Odom is the author of over 100 novels. Winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award for 2002 and runner-up for the Christy in 2005, he’s written in several genres, including tie-in novels for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Without A Trace, and novelizations of Blade, XXX, and Tomb Raider. Thankfully, he’s learned to use his ADHD for good instead of evil.

This article appeared online in Blogcritics Magazine, July 4, 2007

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