M.Indie by Joseph Lieberman
M.Indie Takes out the Trash (November 11, 2005)
With a title like that you’d think that this would be the start of a really great rant. Ironically, Trash is the name of a game that defies its name; Trash is anything but. The idea of a real time strategy game made by indies was once something of a pipedream. This year has seen tremendous growth in the RTS indie sector with the release of games like Darwinia and I of the Enemy. Trash is the latest to add to that collection of good games, and here we will take an in depth look to what makes it so special.
Trash is a game that hails back to the old school RTSs. If you were a fan of the old Blizzard games and can live with slightly outdated graphics you are on the right track. Basically, the game ignores a lot of the more recent innovations that have made RTSs needlessly complex. Units don’t gain experience, tech trees are simple, there aren’t a million different units. The premise ‘less is more’ should probably be employed in a lot of games we play today, which seem to think that adding content always makes the game better.
Trash is primarily multiplayer. The single player component exists, but it is more for training than entertainment purposes. The game has a dedicated lobby and has a good population 24/7. This makes it possible to actually play the game against other people, a very important but sometimes overlooked item for multiplayer indie games.
The graphics, as stated, are slightly outdated. The sound effects are solid but aren’t going to wow you either; they do their job and they do it well enough. The clan system is good and the tournaments are growing. The ranking system gives you something to look forward to and is a good way to determine how to create balanced teams. Most games are random and random games tend to create an even spread of ranks.
So what makes Trash so good? Teamwork. An RTS that forces players to work and act as a team and can support matches as large as 12v12. You connect to your teammate through pipes you can construct. Being piped together combines your technologies, allowing for super strong guns or super long range flamethrowers, or any combination of technologies. It also allows similar races to share power supplies and resources, meaning someone can donate trash, oil, or people in a time of need. It makes Trash much more fun and unpredictable than other games out there.
In the end, Trash is a fast game. A long game would go for an hour and many are over in 30 minutes. This allows you to play Trash without dedicating your life to it. The tournaments, clans, and other actives are growing as I write this. Trash’s future looks a lot brighter than the dismal post-apocalyptic setting it portrays. The very robust demo will keep you occupied for ages, allowing you to play online an unlimited amount of time as one of the two races. A pretty sweet deal by any account! The demo is available from
www.inhumangames.com
By: Joseph Lieberman
Posted: Saturday November 05, 2005
Action
Adventure
Arkanoid
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Puzzle & Casual
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RPG
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