SimAnt

• Release Date: 1991
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Miscellaneous Sim

Game Description

In SimAnt, as in so many of the Maxis simulations, the designers have taken hold of a particular subject matter and focused our attention on nearly every aspect of it. The subject matter this time is the incredibly durable and indestructible ant, the largest body of beings on the face of the planet. In SimAnt, you become one of Earth's most determined survivalists and experience life from an ant's perspective. In so doing, you'll find yourself immersed in tasks that seem, well, human in nature. You'll wage war, defend your home, face poisonous chemicals, reproduce, work singularly or in groups, eat, and even face natural disasters.

SimAnt offers three basic play modes. Quick Games puts you in the role of Yellow Ant, the leader of the black ants in a ferocious battle for supremacy and survival against the dreaded red ants for a single patch of yard. The win condition is simple--kill the red queen.

In Full Games, once again you become Yellow Ant, jumping from body to body as your "character" dies, and your mission is on a much grander scale. You must eliminate all the red ants in the yard and then systematically drive the humans from their house by taking over 70% of the 192 indoor "patches."

The final mode, Experimental Games, gives you human status again and, by using different environments, tools, and chemicals in a laboratory setting, you can study your ants' behavior by manipulating numerous parameters.

Review: Overall

If you've ever suffered through an ant infestation problem or been besieged by the little critters on a family picnic, then SimAnt will probably strike a nerve. Even if your entire experience with the species has been limited to eradicating them accidentally by stepping on them (very difficult in a soft environment), viciously crushing them with a fly swatter (what an ignominious death), or watching them busily go about their business in an artificial ant farm or a real anthill, SimAnt will give you a perspective and understanding of ants you've probably never imagined.

Incredibly detailed and lovingly presented, the game requires strategy and good management skills to ensure survival of your family of ants. Make no mistake, the subject matter may be small but there are some tough challenges to overcome, such as building and maintaining colonies, feeding the hordes, surviving disasters like rain storms, floods and human shoes, digging dogs, and predators, both live (spiders and other vicious ants) or artificial (lawnmowers).

SimAnt, at heart, is a simple game and doesn't have all the glittery action of adventure and action games, but it is, after all, a simulation. What it does have is a great deal of integrity, intrigue and interaction. It provides literally hours of immersive game play.

The interface, as in most Maxis games, is intuitive and very easy to use. Most action occurs through the use of icons, menus, and keyboard commands, with a nice arrangement of windows to complement management considerations. The viewing perspective is varied, from overhead close ups of your controlled ant to a panned out global view of the entire area of play (all 192 squares, or patches, that cover the backyard and house), with other angle options available as well.

Graphics are what you might expect from an ant simulation, fairly simple in appearance but detailed enough to allow meaningful text, charts, and graphs to enhance control. The animated cut scenes are a treat and surprisingly eerie in their own way.

Sound effects are very well done and, in fact, can be toggled off if you don't like the sounds of ant carnage before breakfast (the death-by-spider sound bite is particularly memorable). As in real life where the death of a single ant is somewhat meaningless to the colony's well-being as a whole, Maxis had to figure a way for ant armies to continue on when your on-screen alter ego perishes. Through the use of a simple body transfer system (when your Yellow Ant dies, the next egg becomes another Yellow Ant), you jump from ant to ant and keep on trucking.

Of special note is the overwhelmingly detailed and precise manual that is included with the game. From tips and strategies and game play, to histories and facts, the ant kingdom is generously and exhaustingly chronicled. For example, did you know that 50,000 ants weigh approximately one pound and yet the combined weight of all ants on earth exceeds the combined weight of all humans? Play SimAnt. Where else on earth could you carry 20 times your own weight?

Review: Enjoyment

SimAnt has an amazing amount of strategy involved in managing the survival skills. With a great interface and easy game control system, it's a breeze to play. Various modes offer depth of game play. Early Macintosh versions contained specific game play and sound bugs that were corrected in later versions.

Review: Graphics

Simple but effective.

Review: Sound

Effects are well done and can be toggled off for those people easily grossed out.

Review: Replay Value

Depends on how much effort you want to put into managing a virtual ant colony.

Review: Documentation

Manuals don't get any better than this.

Production Credits

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