S&S; Indie Review: Adamant Ants

S&S Reviews- Adamant Ants- Developed by Pixel Junkie Games XBLIG- Justin Foster
Released 6/15/12
80ms points   
  
   Hey Everyone! This week I played through the Indie game Adamant Ants on Xbox 360.  It is a fairly standard side scrolling rts game.  This was the first time I have ever played a side scrolling rts and so I did need to spend some time to get acquainted with the game to judge it fairly.  The game has its strengths that will draw in the rts fan base but it also has some other details that can be discouraging to indie fans.               The high note of this game and the reason I was drawn to it from the start was the quality of the graphics/backdrops.  Indie games don’t get the 6-7gb disc that we expect from beautiful looking games so when I see an indie game that looks polished I am impressed even by the screenshots.  The colors are vibrant and set the mood for the game.  When it gets cloudy at night it can start raining which can make the water that you’re trying to avoid seem much more intimidating.  Now that I have dealt with the beauty the game offers lets figure out what the heck were playing.     The game uses pictures to explain that basically the ant leader has been captured, and the ants want to rescue their leader by touching flags in each of the levels.  The gameplay seems fairly typical and eventually is fun.  Your ants get abilities that end up being able to use artillery, guns, and shields to defend yourself from the AI enemies.  Unfortunately the AI enemies are really pointless and not at all a threat.  While the games gameplay eventually gets good it does take time to get there, and that time can be painful.  Poor controls in the game will result in your ants dying from frustrating game flaws.  I really wanted to put it down after a few different missions where I thought the environment was just too frustrating.  The game felt like a chore until late game and that’s not what I look for when I play games, especially any type of rts be it side scroller or not. I understand the game is trying to use the levels and slowly give you your abilities as a tutorial, but it just becomes boring because it is a slow process.  Overall I really have to say that this game is one that can be passed up.  If you’re a sidecrolling rts fan who craves the style for 80ms points then all the power to you, but for the main indie crowd this game will cause nothing but frustration.  4/10
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