From Dust (360)

[EvilBoris]

So the god game genre pays us a visit.I don't know where to start describing this one, You control 'the breath' a god given life by the men of the tribe (a eel like spirit that acts as your cursor). You guide them between villages by moving the earth. Sometimes you are moving soil to help trees grow and to divert the flow of a river, other times you are pulling molten lava from the mouth of a volcano in order to build a mountain range to protect a village. Each level has your overcoming an obstacle using the powers you have unlocked. It's particularly enjoyable just watching the level change as rivers find there own way, mountains are formed and towering tsunami waves crash over your island.


I've done about 5 levels so far, it's getting quite hard now, I'm trying to redirect a flow of lava from a volcano that periodically erupts. I can do so by building Walls and riverbanks from molten lava, which cools and turns into rock, I can also store up a damn of water and burst it's banks at will to create a flood to slow down the deadly lava, my poor tribes keep getting melted.

The graphics are nice, lots of particle effects and super super smooth, not a jaggy in sight. I was surprised when the opening intro turned out to be in game.

There is some nice epic music but for the most part you just hear the sound of nature.

This definately won't be to everyone's taste, but it's nice if you fancy something a little more laid back.

Although it's a god sim, it's not quite the same as Black and White or populous, as there is no kind of resource management. The aim is to form 4 villages in the predetermined locations on each map, using all means you have.

[Synthesthesia]

I've completed the main story in 1 sitting today- I absolutely loved it over all. The last level was a bit meh but apart from that it's great. Took around 7 hours or so, with dying etc. But there's still the challenge mode to do yet.

[Sketcz]

Loved the look of this - wasn't it meant to be on PS3 also, or only 360?

EDIT:
Had a read of the Wikipedia page, and there's some fuzzy wording regarding its online components. Is this one of those games where you're forced to stay online during play otherwise you can't play it? (ala Capcom's Final Fight remake)

Or can you download and then later boot it in offline mode? It took me over a month to download Jak and Daxter of PSN such is my crappy connection.

[Family Fry]

Dunno about DRM as personally don't own it, would assume no for the xbox version.
PC version was delayed til August 17th and PS3 version has no release date at moment, since its part of the summer of arcade Xbox promotion, that could mean 360 exclusivity between a month to a year.

EDIT.
The PC version has DRM.
Listed on Steam page under 3rd-party DRM: Ubisoft Online Service, probably requires you to have an always on connection.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/33460/

[EvilBoris]

Ubisoft patched out the always on DRM on most of their titles, but it seems like the new Driver game has it, so perhaps this does too.

[Charlie]

I thought the trial very good. It's quite addictive and rewarding considering the mechanics (in the trial at least) are so simple. Beautiful production values too, it's amazing how far arcade games have come.

[EvilBoris]

I'm hoping there is a proper sandbox mode where I can just make my own little island and scuplt it to my heart's desire

[Matt]

I'll get the trial of this and give it a try. Looked very nice from the trailers

[EvilBoris]

I'm done now too, enjoyed it thoroughly.

[FelixofMars]

It does hark back to the days of Populous and Black and White, I have done about 5 levels now but it is kind of annoying that sometimes it does have stuff you need to do pretty much straight away or it will fail the level. The one I am on now is the desert area which is now flooding when I hit the third village and now I can't get anywhere. Will probably have to restart the level.

[EvilBoris]

Yes it is a bit frustrating on occasion that such a sandbox game presses you into going for the villages and powers in such a specific order. The last level is particularly bad for that.I also preferred the levels that let you protect your villages other than just having the lava/water protection

[FelixofMars]

Yeah I got to the next level with the plants and its doing my head in, its all happening too quick and I thought maybe I could do it a different way and remove a gully of the sand so the fire plants don't grow but no the sand magically regrows and then the jungle spread and boom burned out villages.

[EvilBoris]

The key to that one is to try and play it like a tower defense game. Place water trees in places where they will put out any fires before they get to your villages, if not just use the put out fires ability before it even gets close, it recharges pretty quick. After a couple of villages I think you get the ability to move fire trees. You are home free by then

[EvilBoris]

I didn't realise the challenge maps were seperate levels, that certainly lengthens it a fair bit. Although some of them are hilariously easy.

I don't understand how people have got a total time of 13minutes when loads of the challenges are timed and you have to wait 3/4 minutes for the level to end...

[Wools]

Discussion on this game is very quiet on NTSC-UK, I wonder if it?s because there?s less RTS fans on here? Either way, I completed this a few days ago and absolutely adored it.

I have to let others know that it?s not as sedate as people have mentioned. There?s no question that the opening few levels lull you into a beautiful world where you really can make islands rise from the sea and can comfortably complete them without any intervention or effort. However the difficulty really ramps up later in the game where you forced to manage situations and create solutions on the fly as towns are burning to the ground.

My 2 favourite levels are found later in the game and are completely separate in what you have to manage and unlike anything else. The first is located out to sea, where your villagers are washed up on a rock and there are 2 volcanoes with the tip just poking out the surface of the sea. The way the game allows the volcanoes to form land mass whilst you start to create and nurture your own islands is a sight to behold. Near the end, I had three amazing looking islands, with the volcano slowly encroaching onto one of them. As I was becoming a bit too relaxed, From Dust caught me off guard as lava started to flow down onto a jungle and set fire to it. I was then forced to spend over 5 minutes thinking on my feet, the outcome being a rock gutter being created to channel excess lava out to sea and away from the island and the scorched earth started to recuperate so I could get off the land.

The second best level is the hair pulling bastard, second to the end. I completed it on my second go, after getting drowned on my first attempt, and it was exhilarating to adapt and survive! The game throws everything at you, from storms that flood the low areas, lava that flows into the water and raises it further still, to a volcano that pours down and destroys everything in its path. Despite my natural tendency to prefer slow and relaxed RTS?s ( Age of Empires 2 & Black & White 2 are favourites ) this level put you under constant pressure with no idea as to what could happen. But using the games great logic, allowing you to plug holes, divert streams and use powers, you?re able to keep up with mother nature?s demands and you never feel that you?re overwhelmed unfairly. During these set pieces, I?m screaming not out of frustration, but out of panic and seemingly non-stop disasters that I?m always able to keep a handle on. Just.

[HIDE]Also worth a mention is the beautiful sandbox at the end. This really shows how creative the game is, and what a great job the level design team done. Despite now being able to create worlds with no restrictions, the game can come alive with a pre-defined land design along with some tricky to locate totems. Still, the sandbox is a great relief and I surprised myself after being in safe surroundings, but still flooding my towns by raising the earth too quick![/HIDE]

There?s a few issues with the game, the path finding always stalls when you least want it to and the control on Xbox 360, whilst adequate and far better than past RTS console conversions, is still not as precise and user friendly as you want it to be.

But despite these few flaws, it?s a wonderful RTS and is quite unlike any game before it.