14 DAY TRIAL // Introversion Software is announcing that Darwinia+ is set to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade service for the Xbox 360 home console on February 10, after a lengthy certification process with publisher Microsoft.
The new Xbox 360-only package is offering both Darwinia and Multiwinia with a host of improvements over the already released versions, including a graphical reworking, which makes it easier for new comers to understand the game, a fresh introductory experience with tutorials and a new control scheme adapted to the Microsoft home console and its controller. Darwinia+ will cost interested players 1,200 Microsoft Points, which is the equivalent of about 15 dollars, depending on how you get the Microsoft virtual currency.
It is the first Introversion release on a home gaming console and after a long struggle with Microsoft, the title became a sort of Director's Cut of the two games included. Both titles are very different from the mainstream titles console players might be more accustomed with. Darwinia tells the story of a fight against a computer virus threatening the existence of a virtual world inhabited by Darwinians, while Multiwinia follows up by showing how the virus affected the inhabitants that joined various tribes in order to battle each other.
Darwinia+ will combine elements from both the above mentioned titles, taking the player on a journey through the land inhabited by Darwinians. The game will use the single player element to teach strategy and tactics before offering Xbox Live to connect players as they command their armies and clash with one another. It is fast paced and engaging, although the stylized graphics might put off some console players.
With Darwinia+ finally released on Xbox Live, Introversion will probably shift its resources into the development of Subversion, a new project that will focus on procedurally creating a complex game world.