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Diggles

Score: 65%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: Strategy First
Developer: Innonics
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Strategy

Graphics & Sound:

Playing Diggles is like having a 3D ant farm on your screen. But as the graphics are 3D, the view is not. This virtual ant farm can only be seen from one side, from about as close as you want to as far away as you want. You'll want to keep it in the latter form most of the time, though, because those little Diggles don't look too pretty up close. Their design isn't bad, but the models themselves don't shape up all that well. Sharp edges and choppy movements will be keeping you at a safe distance.

Though not all of the graphics are up to par, all of the music is. The easy listening fantasy melodies supplement the game's quaint atmosphere very well. The voice acting, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. It doesn't fall to the level of Resident Evil, but it could definitely do with a makeover.


Gameplay:

While the box leads you to believe that Diggles is similar to a number of other successful games, it is only a smokescreen for the game itself to infiltrate your computer as an imposter. Diggles is only Diggles, and nothing else, which in the end turns out to be not that great a thing.

Your job is to lead a group of dwarves on a mission to find Odin's lost dog, Fenris. This honor means you have the privilege of starting, supporting, and utilizing a clan of dwarves to complete a series of levels, unlimitedly ending up in the retrieval of Fenris.

The basic concept of getting around the levels is by digging. If you want to go somewhere, you have to dig, much like an ant in an ant farm. The tunnels you create are complimented by caves, which you also have to get your busy little dwarves to create. Caves give you more room for structures, which are also built by your short friends. The structures, such as tents and forges, allow you to create new items and more dwarves, basically the things that will help you complete the level.

Your dwarves are self-sufficient to an extent. They will automatically go and work on a job you have set, granted that they aren't on their leisure time. However, you have to set the tasks, like cooking food, or else the stupid little guys will sit around and do nothing. They have few needs that require attention, but if you neglect these important items, you'll find your population working slower, becoming weaker, and eventually dying.


Difficulty:

Diggles is not meant to be a hard game. The basic elements of the game, digging and foraging, are inherently easy. The difficulty comes when you start to spawn a lot of dwarves. A handful is easy to keep track of, but when they're crawling all over the place like maggots on a wound, it gets a little difficult to keep track of them. However, it is mainly a nuisance, not a hindrance, to try to find the dwarf you are looking for.

Game Mechanics:

Diggles takes full advantage of the point and click interface. Moving dwarfs, placing structures, and selecting areas for digging is all handled by moving the mouse and clicking. Tilting the camera and moving the screen around is also done with the mouse and its clicking features.

There is interaction between the dwarves, but on a minimal scale. Most of them congregate to one area, chat for a while, and then get back to whatever task you give them. There is no negative conversing between dwarves. All they need to do is talk, and everything will be all right for them.

90 percent of the game will be spent digging. Period. There's no way around it, and it takes a long time considering the size of the map and the average speed of the dwarves. The other 10 percent is taken up with smaller, menial tasks, like completing mission goals, or cutting down mushrooms for food. The digging is the game's weak point. It's boring, and it's the main part of the game. You dig and dig and dig, then you spend a minute or two on something else, and then back to digging. If you want to play a game that's like other, better games, play those other games. If you want to make dwarves dig for six hours straight, pick up Diggles.


-Snow Chainz, GameVortex Communications
AKA Andrew Horwitz

Minimum System Requirements:



350 MHz Processor, 128 MB RAM, 23 MB Video Card, 8X CD-ROM
 

Test System:



Windows 98, 1.4GHz AMD Athlon, GeForce 2 mx 32MB video card, 40 gig hard drive, 56x CD-ROM, 256MB DDR Ram, Sound Blaster Live! sound card, T1 Internet connection

Windows Devastation Windows Frank Herbert's Dune

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated