PS3
Famicom Dojo
KEEP PLAYING
KEEP PLAYING: Rewind
Powet Toys
Powetcast
Hitchhiker's Guide POWETcast
$20 Game of the Week: Fate of the World (PC)
by William Talley, filed in $20 Game Of The Week on Jun.10, 2011
Global Warming, Climate Change, or whatever you want to call it, is a great source of controversy. There are many who believe that it is a very real possibility and a serious threat. On the other side, there are people who believe that Global Warming conspiracies are part of an anti-corporate/anti-christian conspiracy to raise taxes and give power to big government. U.K-based Independent developers Red Redemption seem to be on the former side, and have produced the game Fate of the World, a successor to thier 2006 browser game Climate Challenge.
Taking place in the near future, FOTW places you as head of the GEO, a newly formed organization formed to combat climate change. At heart, this is basically a card game. Each card you have enacts policies, and these include everything from activating a job sharing program to funding black ops, and even making use of biological weapons. You’ll hire agents, which will give you another slot with which to play a card. There are several unlockable scenarios. The first tasks you with overseeing the development of Africa, and later missions task you with keeping the temperature under control and profiting off oil drilling. You must gain support with the world’s regions, otherwise, your agents will be attacked, or worse, you’ll be kicked out the region all together.
Because you only have so many terms in each scenario, there is an element of trial and error. You have to think about what policies to implement, and gauge how they affect development. Do things right, and you’ll gain access to new technology. However, if you’re wrong, war will break out, your agents will go missing, and the people will turn against you.
To hear this game tell it, we’re screwed unless we take action. Even so, FOTW’s easy to learn interface gets addictive, and the scenarios are varied and interesting. If you don’t believe in Climate Change, this game may turn you off, but if you do (or are at least willing to look past the game’s theme), then you’ll want to check this game out.