Ashes To Ashes; Dust To Dust

Gameplay - 7/10

Storyline - 7/10

Graphics - 6/10

Game Score : 20/30

I told you we would be back with a bang after-all didn't I? Welcome to another Friday game review courtesy of yours truly, here on Zalgo Cometh. Today we look at newly released game From Dust. I personally have been looking forward to this games release for a while now, as it is not subject to any specific genre of gaming; at best it can be called a God Game, because in reality that is what you basically are to the inhabitants of the game.

In From Dust, players assume a god-like first-person perspective from which they manipulate an archipelago environment in an effort to save, and enlighten, a nomadic tribe. With a spherical cursor, the user controls certain types of matter - namely soil, lava and water - in real time. Lava cools to form solid rock, vegetation propagates in soil and spreads naturally once a village is built, and moving water quickly erodes terrain. Physical changes to the world occur extremely rapidly, allowing players to restructure islands within minutes. Campaigns in From Dust are structured as a sequence of missions, whereby completing certain objectives expedites the tribe's progress and bestows additional powers, such as the capacity to jellify water. However to fully appreciate and explore the various maps the player is given to play, it may require more time and patience as there are sometimes relics or objectives, that are in the players best interest to be completed before moving on to the next level for full game completion.

Despite the effort made by this game to be different and bring something new to the industry, it has its faults just as with any other game. Even though the aforementioned merit is true, the implementation of this 'new gameplay' of sorts easily becomes repetitive; unless you are truly the type to enjoy games of this genre such as The Sims. Even though it can be comparatively cast in the same light as The Sims, From Dust does not offer the level of interactivity and freedom that The Sims offers. From Dust received generally favourable reviews, following its initial release on 27 July 2011, on Xbox 360. The PC version, released on August 17, 2011, received less favorable reviews overall. The PC version of the game is marred by unrefined controls, limited framerate to 30 FPS, and a lack of anti-aliasing or other advanced graphical options. Ubisoft's DRM (Digital Rights Management) for the game in particular received many complaints, since a constant Internet connection is required when launching the game, even though it was initially reported that the game would simply require a one-time-only activation. 

Thankfully to date Ubisoft has announced that a future patch will apparently eliminate the need for internet authentication to play the game. A Ubi Forum Manager stated: "Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication. This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who's progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally. Once the patch is ready, players who already have the game will automatically receive the update on their next login and subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline." So bear this in mind if you are planning on picking up this game; in the mean time enjoy me doing a little introductory play-through for your entertainment...