This was supposed to be a Duelling Review since we haven't had one in ages, but CigDangle is apparently far too busy to play the game with me in multiplayer for an hour. Or else he trembles at the mere thought of attempting to best me in a strategy game. So, here's the skinny on what will undoubtedly win a newly created (by me while writing the review) Generation: Gamerz 2007 Editor's Choice Award, Mayhem Intergalactic from Inventive Dingo.

Simply put, this game RULES! Chris Pelling has successfully taken turn-based strategy back to the sweetly simplistic beginning and made it so much fun I can't stop playing the damned thing. I keep trying to make bigger and bigger challenges for myself, Milky Way map - large with 5 computer players and myself and growing. Time to get it on! It's like a galactic battle royale with cheese. Am I exaggerating? Hell no! If you buy one downloadable strategy game this year it had better damned well be this one. Hell, if you just buy one downloadable PC game this year it had better be this one.

Ok enough of the sycophantic cacophany I have been spewing and onto the reasons why Mayhem Intergalactic should win some sort of Game of the Year Award. As a matter of fact I think that is a fantastic idea. I will speak with CigDangle about making the first ever Generation: Gamerz' Awards for this year and I guarantee this will win at least an Editor's Choice award from me. (See, I told you that I came up with the idea while writing the review)

  The gist of the game is this; start with one planet and five ships and attempt to dominate the galaxy. You can play with a host of options (YEA for configuration!) that allow you to create different types of games. I prefer to play with the standard where you can't see the ships on the planet or in transit. It makes the game more interesting and sometimes even last a little longer

Graphics: 90%
They're not fancy 3-D boasting more polygons that I have pores in my skin but it just doesn't matter. The game looks damn good. Who cares if all the ships are the same. There's enough difference in the planets to give you some variety. The graphics do exactly what the graphics need to do and that is let you fly around with massive fleets (if you're me) annihilating your enemies and vaporizing natives.

Sound: 85%
The sounds aren't as diverse as the textures of the planets but they adequately represent the battles to be had in the game. There are the prerequisite explosions and such. No laser sounds. I hope the update gets some laser sounds in it. The music is sufficiently atmospheric and sci-fi like and fits well into the game. Heck even choosing a menu option has a "whump" sound which is quite nice.

Controls/Interface: 100%
Wow, there's a help file off the menu. Did you know there's a help file CigDangle? I just jumped in and started playing. and didn't bother with it. But now I see there are a few shortcuts I hadn't found while expanding my numerous empires across the stars. Honestly though, I like a game where I can just pick it up and get moving. Sure there are five 'pages' of help in the game but really they look more like PowerPoint slides with only several lines of text and some demonstrative pictures. The controls are intuitive which is why I was able to play without looking at the help file and they are well suited for the game. They actually utilize both the keyboard and the mouse which even some major game makers have problems remembering to do.

Gameplay: 85%
Here's the only minor problem with the game. The AI cannot beat me. I'm already on 'highest' and while it is a bit more challenging, I am not in danger of losing my galactic empire anytime soon. Aside from that this game is the lightning round of turn-based strategies. It strips out all the stuff you don't need and focuses on the one thing that most games are about: kill or be killed. In my case it's toy with my enemies while seeing if I can get a 1000 ship fleet to one planet. If an update comes out with a more advanced AI it would move the gameplay up to 98% I think. Hint, hint... I know you're reading this Chris Pelling.

Video/Cut Scenes: N/A
In a game of this type there really isn't any need for excessive movies and such that would bloat the download time and lengthen the install. Inventive Dingo has done well to do away with anything of the sort and focus on the quick download/install/play motif they have going.

Summary: 95%
I don't care what the average is from the breakdown. This game gets 95% in my book. It's fast, light-weight and fun to play. Get that boosted AI, a better way to find online opponents and maybe some new galactic configurations, or a map builder in a future update and it could push this game up to almost 100%. As I said in the intro. If you buy one downloadable PC game this year, it had damned well better be this one. Hands down, Mayhem Intergalactic is a winner all around. 

Check out the gameplay video

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