Venture Arctic simulates the interaction of different species and our natural environment. Now, I know that sounds a little serious, a little educational, but don't panic! The game sensibly keeps the education subliminal and the fun foremost. Split into levels, each section puts you in a new environment with a growing variety of animals to nurture and population targets to meet. The player takes the role of mother-nature and has the ability to bring new animals into the world, control the weather or even cause disease, to name a few. To add direction to each level, the player is given targets to meet for the variety and number of animals he needs to support. Buying in new animal stock or using your powers out of season requires currency, but we aren't talking about money here. The currency of VA is count in the spirits of the dead and only by nurturing a thriving eco system can you generate a natural abundance of spirits without having to manually decimate your animal population.

VA is well presented and has a very professional feel. Within each habitat we have a 3D rendering of the land, the sea and the flora and fauna. Although quite low polygon the whole thing is well modeled, colorful and nicely animated. It ever so slightly reminded me of World of Warcraft, with the simple models and over saturated bright colors.

There are little nature facts represented during loading about the different animals and you get the feeling the developers are very passionate about the environment. It's nice that the game doesn't ram home eco-friendly messages, but instead it starts to make you think about how the environment works. If you happen to introduce too many predators to meet a quota then they'll kill off all the herbivores, too many herbivores and plant life is ruined. Each environment features a man made object that has an obvious environmental impact i.e. oil rig, logging camp, etc. I was expecting to see pollution and man made disasters, but that doesn't happen. The oilrig sits quietly pumping away in the middle of the level. As these are the only human structures in the game, they stick out and you can't help thinking about the repercussions should anything go wrong.

I haven't really played anything that put nature, animal husbandry and environmental issues in such a glossy game package. On first play however, I started to feel a little lost. The idea of harvesting the dead to pay for the next generation seemed a little creepy. It takes a while to really sink in, if any one population rises too far it throws the ecosystem out of balance and therefore the player must step in and spread disease to bring that particular animal under control. If these were aliens or fantasy creatures I wouldn't have given it another thought, but culling rabbits and deer can be a little disconcerting.

Initially I thought of the game in terms of "Sim City" or "The Sims" and I kept searching for help on what I should be doing. Where were the advisors, the population graphs and the desire cues for each species? None of that is presented, there are no charts and graphs and they aren't really needed. Eventually I learned that the animals would grow, mate and die as the seasons changed without my intervention. That all I needed to do was watch what was actually happening and step in only when I needed to push the environment towards whatever my current goals were. Cull a few here, plant some bushes there and buy some new stock now and again.

I think this could be a problem for a downloadable game as you only grasp these nuances after 30-60 minutes of play and they are easily missed in a quick demo. The tutorial explains things quite well, but it just didn't sink in until I'd had a lot of practice. I even had to do a little digging in the VA forums before I really felt comfortable directing my little world. Most people download a demo and expect to be having fun within 30secs and I suspect many will pass VA by, either by assuming it's some kind of boring educational game (WRONG) or not quickly grasping what's going on and assuming the game isn't fun (WRONG).

If I had to criticize, it would be that in its later levels some of the tasks do start to feel a little repetitive or clunky. I've often found this with god-type games; it would be really nice if the option to automate or simplify could be introduced into later stages. As the animals graze the grass dies and the player has to manually paint winter snow and then burn it off with summer sun. Initially this is fun and makes sense while also delivering a natural lesson on the impact of herbivores on the environment. However, later in the game you're often too busy to get it done. A recurring task is impregnating specific animal species and sometimes it's hard to track them down and hold onto them. Again, this is initially fun, but later on you just don't have the time and things can get frantic. These are minor issues though, put in the time to play with this simulation and you'll be richly rewarded.


Graphics:
Simple environments and low poly models, but well animated, bright and colorful. In the bigger levels with lots of animals and plants you get a vibrant, busy scene that's a joy to watch.

Sound:
Functional music and sound effects, but I was hoping for a bit more from the animals.

Game play:
Once you get past some initial head scratching this is a great game.

Value:
Meeting all the animal population goals for a level takes a long time and with five levels that's a lot of game. An editor or some downloadable scenarios would have been nice though.

Concept:
A game about nature and our impact on the environment that manages to still be lots of fun. Excellent.

Fun:
Once I understood what was happening and had gotten my first ecology up and running I had a lot of fun.

Overall:
The laid back free simulation feel of the game might throw you at first, but stick with it. Once you've got a lovingly created, functioning ecology up and running you won't be able to stop. A great game to play with your offspring, but be prepared for questions like, "Daddy, what's that polar bear doing to the seal?"