Category: PS & PC Games → Giants: Citizen Kabuto (PC)

Imagine what would happen if Salvador Dali decided to design a computer game after an all-night marathon of watching cartoons, monster movies, and pro wrestling. Then you'd start to get an idea of Giants: Citizen Kabuto, one of the most wildly imaginative, funny, and enjoyable action games to date. Actually, to simply call it an action game would be to do it an injustice. While it's played from a first- or third-person perspective in the fashion of a typical shooter, the game also has resource-gathering and base-building elements that are similar to those in real-time strategy games. These elements are linked together by the game's distinctly stylish and goofy sensibility, which is immediately likeable and entertaining.

While Giants does have a few problems, you'll certainly want to look past these since the game itself is so inventive and so much fun.

The game's action is set on the Island, a planetoid hurtling through space. It is covered with lush, tropical islands and brilliant azure seas and is at least a temporary home to numerous strange creatures, including the game's three playable races. These are so different that they can make Giants seem like at least three different games in one. First, there are the Meccaryns, or Meccs, who were swallowed by a giant space fish while heading to a vacation planet and then unceremoniously defecated onto the Island. They have access to a full range of traditional shooter weaponry such as machine guns, missiles, sniper rifles, grenades, and more. Meccs also have special backpacks, including a default jetpack that lets you fly short distances before having to recharge. For higher flying, there's a gyrocopter that can be piloted by one Mecc while you carry others in multiplayer mode.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto Tech Info
Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Planet Moon Studio
Genre: Sci-Fi Shooter
ESRB: MATURE
ESRB Descriptors: Animated Violence, Animated Blood

Game Information
Number of Players: 1-10

Minimum System Requirements
System: PII 233 or equivalent
RAM: 64 MB
Video Memory: 8 MB
Hard Drive Space: 875 MB

Screenshot: