BRING A SLEEPING PLANET BACK TO LIFE See the trailer at www.WakingMars.com --------------------------------------- In 2097, life is discovered on Mars. When your mission of first contact becomes trapped by a cave-in, you must master the alien ecosystem to survive. With time running out, you will make a decision that determines the fate of a lost planet. UNCOVER THE MYSTERIES OF ANCIENT MARS ➤ Explore an open-ended network of exotic caverns. ➤ Decode mysterious signals and discover long lost ruins. ➤ Survive an unearthly world of strange creatures and hazardous terrain. CULTIVATE YOUR OWN ECOSYSTEM OF ALIEN LIFEFORMS ➤ Grow a vibrant, interconnected ecosystem of exotic plants and alien creatures. ➤ Learn the diet, habits, and vulnerabilities of each new lifeform you encounter. ➤ Cultivate one species to feed another, eliminate unwanted infestations, and research unique behaviors.
Played in a tablet and it is very good. Its fun to play and enjoy the hours you explore around and try to solve each level/problem.
As far as i know, there are 3 possible endings, but you can see all then, just load the last game state and make another choice to end it.
The map teleport makes thing faster and removes the boring part of traveling from already knwon territory in the quest to do the perfect score.
Recommended! :)
I haven't finished the game yet, but here's my impression so far:
If you liked Aquaria, you'll probably like Waking Mars too. Both games combine:
1. Metroidvania-style non-linear worlds
2. Movement not centered around jumping or climbing (swimming in Aquaria's case, Jetpack here.)
3. Skills other than simply attacking enemies. (though Aquaria could learn a thing or two from Waking Mars about how attacking isn't a necessary game mechanic.)
4. Beautiful art and sound design.
5. A vibrant, creative setting with an engaging mystery to it.
Now, of course, this is a bit of a fragile situation since the reveal to the mystery in Waking Mars could send everything crashing down. Hopefully it won't and my rating will remain unchanged.
I do suspect it'll prove a little too short to earn 10 out of 10 though. (Aquaria, by contrast, wasn't too short but the pacing was off so it still felt like it started rushing to wrap the story just as it should've been at the half-way point.)
As for implementation details, Waking Mars definitely has a superior "teleportation" system to prevent backtracking from being a hassle. However, it could learn a thing or two from Aquaria about letting users place custom "point of interest" markets on the map so they don't have to keep notes separately.
(In a game where you have to backtrack once you get new abilities, an automapper with annotation support is a must.)
All in all, probably a solid 9 out of 10.
This game is amazing. Picked it up in the Humble Bundle like the majority of you I'm sure and decided to give it a whirl, and boy was I surprised. Really original and really fun, if you got it in the bundle I highly recommend you give it a shot.
One of the most unique, original and interesting games i had the pleasure to play in 20 years of gaming.
Having played or at least tried hundreds upon hundreds of games over the years, i was a jaded and bored gamer, until i stumbled upon this gem.
Instead of the classic "kill everything that moves" gameplay, here you have to "understand and learn about everything that moves", not to mention the very nice graphics and excellent level design.
For some strange reason it reminds me of Ryzom, of what Ryzom should have been instead of what it ended up being that is.
Fascinating game, thank you Tiger Style, oh and thank you Desura for featuring this game.
Truly wonderful experience.
I had no idea what I was expecting when I began playing Waking Mars. Whatever preconceptions I had, they were mashed up and fashioned into one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had in recent memory.
Fantastic exploration-focused game, a unique eco-system building gameplay style, and a dynamic and thoughtful storyline make this one you can't afford to miss.
My only complaint would be that the game doesn't tie up much of anything in the story by the end, even with the 'best' ending. No matter what you do, it's a rather disappointing end to such a carefully crafted adventure.
The story is interesting, surprising and absolutely gripping. Anyone who needed more than two days to finish this game was forced away from his controller.
It's too short. That's my only, only critique about the game. I wish there'd be something like a training complex where you could play around with the plants a little more.
Bloody brilliant. Great storyline, very absorbing gameplay, fancy atmosphere of discovery for all the time! You gotta better play this, even if you thought (like me) it is just some stupid plant seeding.
Waking Mars is like a good Outer Limits or Twilight Zone episode in the form of a metroidvania. Weapons are replaced by seeds. Combat is replaced by dodging hazards and tossing seeds into plant beds. It works.
Each room is a resource-balancing puzzle. While warping around for resources was sometimes necessary, nothing was particularly frustrating. The requirements for opening a new area are small so it's easy to move on and backtrack later. Some of the endings seemed hidden rather well, but prior actions didn't screw me out of going for them after my last checkpoint.
Go play Waking Mars - FOR SCIENCE!
This games is great. Its started as game for iOS, but then was ported to win\mac\linux and ported with top notch quality. Controls is very pleasant, joypad supported fully and picture is pleasant.
Gameplay will not disappoint you. Love Aquaria? Then imagine same exploration desire with dry caves filled with strange creature. Thats it, right.
Overall game is дееду less bright the Aquaria, but that dont stop you to enjoy it.
Plot is not making player facepalming either - overall it looks pretty realistic and meets science.
Dont like to killing things? then if you play it right you will not need to, main idea to create life, not to kill.
Want some action? no problem, nobody said that there is no hazards in caves and that you cannot hurt yourself.
Soundtrack will pleasantly amaze you too - eclectic mix of space tunes with little of techno sounds fresh, great and very atmospheric to match game.
Overall its very complete, highly polished, made with love and passion game.
And it have multiple endings too, if you feel not enough.
A truly amazing game with a great atmosphere that'll suck you in for a few hours.
Being a rather short game, I was surprised at how much content was stuffed into it. The gameplay is original and addicting, and it probably also helps that I'm into the 'green' stuff, causing me to love the creation-of-an-ecosystem gameplay. It was rather difficult at times, and I'd even say it's part puzzle game, forcing the player to discover which plants eat which, which seeds go where...
The music is good, though I find it can get repetitive and stressful at certain, rare moments.
The visual style is interesting, mixing both part-3D models with a 2D environment, and with a slight touch of hand-drawn graphics.
It also has a great little story to wrap up that all, making this one of my favorite indies in a while.