The Digest: Finally a retro style Indie game that breaks the mold to follow its own path rather than walk in the shadow of our old friend Mario.THE FACT SHEET
RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2010PUBLISHER: Aah Games
DEVELOPER: Robert Swan
PRICE: 80 MS Points
GENRE: Puzzle & Strategy
PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
Strategy fans rejoice as the little people of Atlantis await your heroic rescue in this 16 level, fun filled, puzzle game by Aah Games.
PRODUCT FEATURES:
- Retro Style Feel
- Customizable Options
- High Score Tracker
- In-depth Tutorials
Aah Little Atlantis is the first of many affordable titles to be featured on the Xbox Live Indie Game’s list from the publisher Aah Games. The small UK based company is set out to produce a series of titles that will hardly put a scratch on your Microsoft Points wallet while still providing an enjoyable experience.
At first look, Aah Little Atlantis looks like your typical NES knock off with the old school music and the edgy pixels. But instead this title brings a fresh new feel and experience to a strategy game that was never before seen on the original Nintendo.
The concept behind the game is to rescue as many little Atlanteans as humanly possible before the island floods and all hope is lost. You are given 25 turns to save the occupants of island with every fifth turn resulting in another part of the island sinking to the bottom of the sea. The blue sandbars are the first to go after your fifth turn, followed by the beaches, then the grass, the woods at your twentieth, and finally the mountains at your twenty-fifth and final turn.
You have a few options when it comes to choosing your line of rescuing the Atlanteans. Your first life line is to funnel the population to higher ground as the island continues to sink. Your second and probably most effective option is to shuffle the citizens into the provided boats and rafts scattered throughout the level. The boats can hold up to four Atlanteans while the rafts can hold only one. The most challenging part is actually getting the little characters to move in the direction you want them too since they move on their own after each turn.
The scoring system is fairly straight forward with the most obvious way of racking up points is to save as many citizens as possible. Of course the more prestigious the citizen you save, the more points your rally up in the end. For example you will gain 100 points if you save one of the farmers as opposed to 500 points if you save one of the Kings. You will also gain bonus points for saving at least one citizen from each class. That is if you can manage this daunting task before the sea claims them all.
While the game does provide some cheap thrills and a new twist to a strategy game, you may find yourself a bit annoyed at first. I do like the concept of bringing a new style of game with the throwback feel of the old days. My problem wasn’t with the design or the boxy Nintendo like 8-bit graphics. My problem was I spent more time in the tutorials learning what to do than actually playing the game. I don’t remember having to learn how to play Super Mario or Legend of Zelda; you simply learned up how to play in a matter of minutes while playing the game. With Aah Little Atlantis it’s impossible to learn on the fly and pick up the concept of the game without going through the series of tutorials. Some gamers may enjoy these tutorial and learning every inch of the game but if your like my self, you just want to play the game and experience it first hand.
Conclusion: Despite the extensive learning curve and the 8-bit graphics, this game is by no means one for the fail category. It’s a new and creative twist that will most certainly have you avid strategy fans excited to save the little people of Atlantis.
| PROS | CONS |
| - 80 MS Points - 16 Levels - Replay Value | - Extensive Learning Curve - Point and Click Style Game Play - Lack of Game Play Features |
Single Player: 3/5 | Multi-Player: N/A
Special thanks to Aah Games for providing us with a copy of the game for review.
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