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Once in awhile, there comes along a game with a good story that makes you want to play it, slowly and inexorably drawing you into its world. I’m happy to announce that Giants: Citizen Kabuto is one such game. Giants is also one of those games that manages to defy genre conventions as well, combining elements of FPS, adventure, and RTS games into one really nice package. One of the most talked about games of last year (whether it be due to the graphics or the whole controversy behind the censorship of the Sea Reapers in the game), Giants almost never fails to deliver what seems to be missing from a lot of games these days: fun gameplay, likeable characters, and an interesting storyline.

Meccs, Some Smarties, and a Reaper gathering her daily Vimp

Characters and Story

The game takes place a long, long time ago on a fragment of a shattered world known simply as “the Island.” A collection of small continents strewn upon a vast ocean, the Island is home to many varieties of life both big and small. However, there is one lifeform that is artificial: Kabuto. Created by the once dominant species of the Island, the Sea Reapers, Kabuto’s original purpose was to guard the Island against unwanted intruders. Unfortunately for the Sea Reapers, their creation went berserk, forcing them to flee into the oceans. The Sea Reapers refined their mystical arts while in exile and with the leadership of their evil queen Sappho, they plot to restore their lost status as the dominant species. The other notable character in the Sea Reaper faction is Sappho’s daughter Delphi, who believes there is an alternative to her people’s evil way of life. Sharing the Island with Kabuto and the Sea Reapers, is a race fun-loving, munchkin-like people called the Smarties, led by Grandpa Borjoyzee. To further complicate the situation a spaceship containing 5 Meccaryns, a race of technologically advanced aliens who bear a slight resemblance to Lego mini-figures, appears on the scene. Originally heading to the planet Majorca for some R&R, the hapless Meccs (as they call themselves) got eaten by an interstellar fish and “excreted” near the Island. While repairing their ship they somehow find themselves embroiled in the effort to free Sea Reaper dominion of the Island once and for all…

Gameplay

The game is structured such that you will play the Meccaryns first, followed by Delphi, and finally Kabuto in sequential order. You must finish the missions for each faction in order to advance to the next faction. Each faction’s first few missions are something of a tutorial to get you used to their respective strengths and weaknesses. As you progress through the missions they will progressively get harder as you learn how to use more and more abilities for the faction. One area that Giants can be greatly commended for is the variety of missions that you can play during the course of the game, from straightforward seek and destroy missions to escort missions. The game itself is played through either a first person perspective or a third person perspective with the ability to change perspectives on the fly (handy for looking around or over obstacles). Each faction plays dramatically differently which means gameplay never gets stale. Like any other action shooter, various weapons are at your disposal depending on the faction you are currently playing with; the Meccaryn weapons being the most recognizable due to the fact that they are the bread and butter of most FPSes being of the rocket/grenade launcher, sniper rifle, and machine-gun kind (the splash radius for explosive weapons is surprisingly rather small actually). However, they also have neat gadgets that they can carry on their backs ranging from portable turrets to a “cloaking” device that disguises them as rather conspicuous bushes (how the Sea Reapermen fail to see beyond the disguise is a mystery to me but it sure is funny as heck when you sneak up behind one and, as the Meccs are fond of saying, “shoot ‘em right between the eyes!”). Delphi gets a magical bow and spells, as well as a wicked looking sword that does a surprising amount of damage against enemies. Playing as Kabuto is another experience in itself as your attacks and special abilities are all purely physical in nature being of the punching, stomping, death-from-above variety. With all the fighting going on it’s not uncommon to see great swaths of destruction cut through the countryside. Indeed, almost everything is destructible and some natural objects can be even be used as weapons by Kabuto (like rocks for throwing, and a crystal shard for use as a “magnifying glass” for burning enemies). Scattered about on the Island as well, are various Gift Shops that your Meccs are able to use to restore health or restock ammo. Delphi regenerates health by swimming in deep water while Kabuto simply grabs the nearest living creature and eats it.