Uhm, can we forget the whole FishingTrip thing ever happened? Let’s pretend I’ve just reviewed Rayman Jungle Run and Bad Piggies, and all is well in the world of apps. Good.
Now, having recently awarded 5/5 to a handful of games, let’s see if Plague Inc can continue the trend of awesome gameage. Spoiler alert: it does.
Plague Inc is easily one of the most morbid games I have ever played, in the sense that you’re tasked with wiping out humanity with a 21st century plague. The developers, Ndemic Creations, describe Plague Inc – quite accurately – as “a unique mix of high strategy and terrifyingly realistic simulation”.
There are seven plague types in total, from bacteria to bio-weapon. Each is unlocked by wiping out humanity with the previous plague type, however you can pay 69p to unlock them individually, while £1.99 nets all seven.
It might sound incredibly childish, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of Plague Inc is naming your disease. I’ve had many a chuckle at the likes of “Sore bum is becoming scary” and “Snotters awareness day”. Yes, I have the mentality of a 12 year-old, clearly.
Anyway! With each plague type, it’s necessary to juggle the Transmission, Symptoms and Abilities. It's tough work being a plague.
Transmission dictates how the disease is spread, such as insects, birds, air and water. Each has its own characteristics. Airborne diseases, for example, are most effective in arid environments, and prone to spreading through airlines.
Symptoms, meanwhile, range from mild nausea, coughing and sneezing to balls-out insanity and coma. There are dozens of symptoms on offer in Plague Inc, and combinations can yield, er, interesting results. Defecating in the streets? You got it.
Finally, Abilities defines your disease’s, well, ability to thrive in certain climates, and – crucially – its researchability and resistance to drugs.
Each of those can be modified with Plague Inc’s DNA points, obtained as the disease spreads. The tricky part of Plague Inc is balancing the three.
For example, if you pump too many DNA points into Symptoms, your disease will be noticed and work on a cure will be more enthusiastic. It’ll also be less likely to spread as countries take preventative measures.
Incidentally, those preventative measures can be completely brutal. In particularly desperate times, Plague Inc’s governments will execute infected individuals and resort to mass burial. Eek.
But there’s also a funny side, with news reports announcing Apple$oft’s iCure device and such like.
And that’s Plague Inc in a nutshell. As you might’ve gathered, there’s lots more to Plague Inc, including a ton of stats and graphs and what not. I’m only scratching the surface here.
It’s great, and it’s only 69p. What are you waiting for? Go kill everyone.
Pros
- Incredibly deep
- Naming your disease
- It’s only 69p and 39MB
- The ability to speed up time
- Save slot
Cons
- Visually quite bland
- Minimal music
- Utterly morbid
Summary: Plague Inc invites you to wipe out humanity with a 21st century plague. It’s every bit as depressing and enjoyable as it sounds.
Developer: Ndemic Creations
Price: 69p @ App Store
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
