Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest (DS)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.0 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Shiva Stella
• Reviewed on: 03/11/2008
• Released on: 03/04/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest (DS) Review

Eco Creatures: Save the Forest is an environmentally minded real-time strategy game for the Nintendo DS, developed by Lightweight and published by Majesco. Its story and presentation are charming but the game's strategy elements are largely frustrating and uninspired.

The game's premise begins with an industrialized "evil kingdom" encroaching upon the territory of its neighboring Mana Forest, polluting its waters, stripping the land bare, and unleashing genetically modified crop monsters that are jeopardizing the peace of the forest. However, this forest is the domain of a mountain deity who would be angered by the progressive industrialization, so to prevent the god's wrath, the forest's protection is charged to a master wizard and his trusty yellow ogrelike subordinate, Dorian.

It's your job to guide Dorian throughout the game's 40 missions to defend the forest from the kingdom's destructive machines. The average mission charges you with destroying all enemies/enemy structures while protecting the Mana House, Dorian's life-replenishing base that also spawns your army of "wood spirits." There are three unit types to summon from the Mana House: ecolis (squirrels), ecomon (flying squirrels), and ecoby (beavers). Each of these unit types come with base stats of defense, power, and speed. The bulk of the gameplay has you guiding the eco-creatures to defeat the machines and their spawn buildings or weaponry by circling them with the stylus then tapping a destination or foe.

The wood spirits feature basic attacks, as well as unique "special moves," that add some much-needed strategy to the gameplay. The ecolis grow trees to provide Dorian with the mana he needs to summon spirits or cast spells. Depending on seed placement, the ecolis can also grow select trees tied to spawn specific eco-creatures. For example, growing an ecomon tree in tall grass increases the number of available ecomon by one. Additionally, the ecolis are able to grow healing trees to recover your army's health, as well as house trees to serve as secondary eco-creature spawn points. Similarly, ecomon serve to transport items to Dorian while the ecoby build bridges, slopes, or dams to allow creatures that can't swim to cross bodies of water.

Lightweight added more than the usual stat customization and leveling options, enabling you to speedily level a small group of eco-creatures with mana drops, as well as adjust their behavior patterns. For example, a "timid" ecolis will avoid battles, while a "brave" one will fight to the death. These personality adjustments are made via situational cutscenes that prompt you to select a desired reaction to an event. Your choice slightly alters the appropriate stat and rewards you with colored mana drops to modify base stats.

Unfortunately, managing this large army can get irritating. The controls are far from intuitive; to give your wood spirits an order, like grow a tree, you must first select the eco-creature mode, tap the appropriate colored icon, then select the ability and location to prompt the animal to act. The problem is that you're constantly switching between Dorian mode and creature mode to issue commands. So you'll often instinctively move to circle the creatures you want to maneuver without realizing you're in Dorian mode, or vice versa, costing you precious time as you switch back and forth in the midst of battle. Another interface quirk occurs even if you intend to cast the same spell back-to-back. To do so, you've got to reopen Dorian's spell menu and manually select it to cast, but because the spell menu takes up the whole screen, you're unable to spot approaching foes. There also seems to be an issue with selecting a destination or opponent near the menu because the game voids the command. This requires that you relocate Dorian to move the camera so you can position your desired destination away from the menu--a silly nuisance that gets frustrating quickly.

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