Mega lo Mania
| Developer: Sensible Software | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Image Works | Sound: |
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| Year: 1991 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
Becoming a god in two easy steps:
- Teach your followers how to make weapons.
- Command them to exterminate everything in sight.
Congratulations! Your civilisation is thriving!
Now you’ve mastered the basics of this god-wargame, akin to Populous, though its development reminds me more of Nuclear War (also for the humour).
You’ll lead nine campaigns across as many worlds and through various eras. Starting with a contingent of 100 settlers, you’ll need to allocate them wisely across the three islands to conquer (I suggest you save some for later). You’re up against one, two, or three rival gods trying to develop their own people and assert dominance, just like you. Fragile alliances can be formed to take down an annoying third opponent, but don’t forget: your ultimate goal is the total annihilation of every rival faction!
In practice, you’ll spend most of your time dividing your workforce into different tasks: research and development, mining, weapon crafting, and, naturally, training an army. It’s relatively straightforward, with an intuitive icon-based interface and helpful tooltips that make the manual unnecessary.
As your technological level progresses, you’ll gain access to increasingly advanced weaponry—from slingshots to atomic bombs, with catapults and bomber planes in between. Ah, the wonders of progress!
Interestingly, this is said to be the first video game to use the concept of a “tech tree”, just before Civilization came along.
The only downside, in my opinion, is that beyond the “arms race” (enhanced by amusing digitised voices), there’s not much else to do. Perhaps this is due to the game’s seemingly rushed release…
Following the death of Robert Maxwell, a highly controversial British businessman, his publishing empire collapsed almost overnight (thanks to massive debts and assorted dodgy dealings). The game’s publisher, Mirrorsoft, was part of that empire. As a result, the creators of Mega lo Mania weren’t fairly compensated, and the planned sequel couldn’t be funded.
Still, the game was ported to consoles (notably the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo) and was released in the United States as Tyrants: Fight Through Time.
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