If you do a search for "emulators" online, you'll find more than 10 million hits. Retro games from such old machines as Sega Megadrives and Atari 2400s are apparently in big demand from gamers, which is no surprise considering the ageing gamer fanbase of today. [Hoi, I'm part of that fanbase and hate to be reminded that I'm ageing! Grumpy Old Ed]. With this in mind, retro-styled Darwinia by Introversion Software could not fail to be a hit.

The story is simple: you, the player, come across the fascinating world of Darwinia, a digital creation by the mysterious Dr Sepulveda. The good doctor created this digital world on a serious of 80s Protologic 68000 computers and populated it with single-sprite life forms known as Darwinians. All was good in this land until evil viruses invaded, and it just so happens that you turned up just in time to save the world… well, save this particular virtual world anyway.

You want to know what sort of game it is though, right? I'm afraid I can't tell you, because I don't know! It's a cross between an isometric action shooter and an RTS, although there's no resource collecting and in theory you have unlimited units at your disposal. If you can remember the old game Cannon Fodder by Sensible Software, then you've already got a good idea of what to expect. It's like that with, well, extra stuff. Let me explain.

Darwinia is infested with worm-like viruses, digital spiders, soul eating dragons, and other nasties. To defend the Darwinians, you have three basic units at your disposal: squads, engineers and armour. Squads are your basic attack unit, which move with a left click and fire lasers with a right click. The interface is amazingly simple and intuitive, so aiming is a straightforward matter. Hurling grenades, placing air-strike beacons and firing rockets are also easily done while controlling the squad. Engineers take over control points and collect Darwinian souls, all with minimum input. Armour works like little tanks that can transport Darwinians and, with a single click, transform into powerful stationary guns.

Viruses run rampant in Darwinia, but your soldier squads are well equipped to deal with it. The most basic enemy virus is a little red worm that crawls around and can be wiped out with a single laser blast. It sounds easy, but it's not - the viruses come in their hundreds, and now and then a clever one blends in well enough with the background to get by unnoticed. Large sections of viruses can be destroyed by hurling digital grenades, an act of carnage that is far more fun than you'd think possible. There is no limit to your weapons either - keep firing and hurling grenades all day, you'll never run out. You won't get bored, because it's all incredibly good fun.

The control interface is beautiful in its simplicity, but interestingly enough, you have no control over the Darwinians themselves, not directly anyway. By converting a Darwinian into an Officer, you can direct Darwinians to a given location, or get them to follow you, but otherwise they wander around fairly aimlessly, usually screaming and dying while savage viruses bear down on them. Doctor Sepulveda is at hand to help however; he develops better programs for you to use, such as Darwinians V2.0, which arm your little digital charges, or enhanced lasers, squads, engineers and a host of other improvements. Thought must be put into your research choices though, since you'll not have anywhere near enough time to research everything and your potential for upgrading is limited.

The graphics are very retro and I mean that in a good way. Chunky polygons and sprites populate Darwinia, giving it a fantastically Eighties look, like something from the movie Tron. Bad guys don't explode in colourful fireballs when they die, but instead they fall apart into polygon bits. You can identify damaged foes (or your own squaddies) by the way they flicker and distort, like a computer screen losing power then suddenly having it back again. The Eighties look is captured perfectly by Introversion Software, making Darwinia really look like a world inside a computer… albeit a very outdated computer.

In line with the retro graphics, the sounds are very simple too. Though I've not counted, I'd guess there's only maybe a dozen or so different sounds in the whole game, mainly explosions, laser zaps and high-pitched screaming Darwinians. The music is beautiful and highly emotional however, reminiscent of a true struggle for survival, which really helps you to bond with the little Darwinians that you've pledged to save. I almost don't laugh whenever one of my stray grenades frags a bunch of them. Almost.

The gameplay is highly intuitive, and Dr Sepulveda is always ready to give hints or gameplay tips at any time, if you just press the I key. Why other RTS games haven't used such a simple but powerful mouse interface is beyond me. The screen always shows you what you want, when you want it and without complex rotation, height and zooming functions. The simplicity is what you'd get from a real Eighties game and adds to the atmosphere, while making it as addictive as the best retro game you can dig up.

In all honesty there is only one problem with Darwinia: there's not enough. An experienced gamer should be able to breeze through it in a single day, maybe two at the most. Just as you're really getting into it and developing and honing your favourite strategies, it's all over. As I saw the end coming, I fervently hoped I was wrong and that there was more, but alas, it was not to be. I suppose that since Dr Sepulveda made Darwinia in old Eighties computers he didn't have enough memory available for a bigger world. It's a shame, but don't let it dissuade you from playing this game; it's a beautiful mix of everything we love in retro gaming and everything we're capable of having with modern technology, truly a match made in virtual heaven!

Reviewed by Steve Rosenthal for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).