POSTED 30/7/11


FROM DUST

Ubisoft
Xbox 360/XBLA (also on PS3/PSN, PC)

It’s not easy being a god. Everybody just wants, wants, wants. Forget using initiative, why bother using your noggin when you’ve somebody to beseech for whatever shit you fancy then can use as a scapegoat when it doesn’t eventuate?

We’ve nothing resembling a god complex – too much pressure. But if you do then From Dust may be your funky groove thang – or, indeed, fascist groove thang, depending upon your propensity towards good or e-vil.

It’s what’s known as a ‘god game’ – not a particularly descriptive description if you’ve NFI what one is. Remember Populous? You’re sorted. Don’t? Well, you’re basically in control of the densities – uh, destinies (sorry, BTTF overload) - of others. A mind for strategy’s required.

It starts with a bunch, erm, gaggle... uh, corroboree? Anyway, there’s these bewildered aboriginal peeps, who go all Yothu Yindi to summon ‘The Breath’. That’s you, that is. Your godtastic gig is guiding them to totems, where they get villages happening with vegetation, huttage and such.

To accomplish this, you fuck with nature. Need land for your tribal dudes to get pilgrimage with? Suck up some dirt Katamari style then splot it down where required. Stuff getting too H20 in places? Slurp it up and blurt it into the ocean. Basically, these dudes may be intrepid, but they’ve all the smarts of poo, so you have to be all protectoristic otherwise Mother Nature’ll zot them with assorted mayhemenous ouchitude before you can squeak “hey!”. Wait ’til you cop your first tsunami, you’ll feel for the poor little buggers as they go all waterloggy drowny-drowny, whilst having that niggling synapse space telling you Charles Darwin was onto something.

It’s not easy being a god. But whether you’re feeling naughty or nice, From Dust makes it deliciously good fun trying the robes on.

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