Plague Inc.
| Plague Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Studio | Ndemic Creations |
| Publisher | Miniclip (Google Play Store) |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
2012 |
| platform | iOS , Android , Windows Phone , Microsoft Windows , macOS , Linux , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Nintendo Switch |
| genre | Strategy game , simulation |
| Subject | pandemic |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | u. a. Touch screen |
| medium | Download |
| language | multilingual |
| Current version | 1.16.7 |
Plague Inc. (short for Plague Incorporated , in German: Seuchen-AG ) is a strategy video game from the developer Ndemic Creations. The aim of the game is to destroy humanity with the help of a pathogen . A comprehensive epidemic model is used for a simulation that is as realistic as possible . The game was first released for iOS at the end of May 2012, followed by a version for Android in October of the same year.
The game had been downloaded over 21 million times worldwide by December 30, 2013 and was the 5th most purchased application in the US App Store in 2013 .
The offshoot Plague Inc: Evolved was released on Steam in February 2014 for PC, Mac and Linux . A console version for Xbox One followed in 2015. The console version for the PlayStation 4 was released on May 31, 2016. Another console version for the Nintendo Switch was released on August 2, 2019.
Gameplay
The game offers several modes, which differ only slightly from each other: Each game mode is played with a different pathogen, but the gameplay remains the same. Each game mode can be played in the difficulty levels Simple , Normal , Brutal and Mega Brutal . The initially available pathogen is the bacterium . New pathogens are unlocked in the normal difficulty level, and bonus pathogens in the brutal level . Each activated pathogen must have been victoriously played at least once in order to activate a new one.
The game is played against the world's population , so the game map is based on the earth. The map is divided into different states . Larger states such as B. Russia or Australia are separate, smaller states such as Switzerland , Austria and Slovakia are combined into one state for the sake of playability (in the example called Central Europe ). The states have factors adapted to their real models, which can be broken down into four areas: economic strength , amount of precipitation, temperature and population density . Germany, for example, is portrayed as a rich, cold, and densely populated country with moderate rainfall. In addition, every state has a population that corresponds to the real model. In total, the world is populated by 7.124 billion people. However, the number of the world population does not fluctuate, no new people are added.
The game starts on the current day and then runs according to the daily rhythm. At the start of the game, the player can choose a state in which his pathogen begins. A person becomes infected. People can either be healthy, infected, or dead. Over time, the disease spreads through land-to-land infection, ships, airplanes or animals, but further developments are necessary in the long term. In order to develop the pathogen further, DNA points are required. The player receives DNA points through the infection of a new state, through bonus DNA, through the spread of his illness or the death of people. DNA points can be used to buy new skills for the disease. These can in turn be subdivided into areas: spread, disease picture and resistance. For example, the pathogen can be adapted to its spread through the air and its resistance to heat. This gives the pathogen an advantage in warm countries. The development of the clinical picture ranges from a simple cold to total organ failure . By developing new skills, the effectiveness of the disease can be increased in three different areas: infectivity , severity and lethality . The more infectious the disease, the faster it spreads. The more lethal the disease, the faster the world population dies. The severity of the disease has more complex implications. On the one hand, when people die or are newly infected , the player receives more DNA points and the world's economic power is weakened; on the other hand, the world is more likely to recognize the disease as such and a cure is developed more quickly.
When the world's population discovers the disease, it begins to develop a cure . The more severe the disease, the more money is invested in the cure. Economically strong nations thus have an advantage in the development of the remedy. The player has various options to defend himself against the remedy, such as developing resistance or developing a new clinical picture that requires a different treatment. If the world's population is completely destroyed before a cure has been developed, the player wins. If the world's population manages to develop a cure or if the pathogen kills its carriers before they can infect all people, the pathogen is considered defeated and the world has won. The game calculates a score from the efficiency of the disease.
Each pathogen has different special abilities; parasites, for example, live in symbiosis with humans and are therefore less quickly identified as the cause of the disease. In addition to the activation of new pathogens, there is the activation of new DNA segments that create various benefits for the disease. This makes it easier to win game modes when you play again. A central element of the game is the mutation, the pathogen can express abilities without the use of DNA points. This can be an advantage or disadvantage for the player. If the disease is not to be discovered, the severity should be kept as low as possible. Skills mutated by chance usually increase the severity. Various statistics are available to the player, such as new infections per day or deaths per day . Furthermore, the time course of the disease and its abilities can be viewed.
World events are commented on by the news and media. There is tactical information for the player, but also parodies of current topics and events. If there is an earthquake , for example, people die regardless of the disease, researchers find new healing methods for disease patterns, and the development of the remedy makes a leap towards the 100% mark. Video games like Minecraft or Jetpack Joyride , people like Justin Bieber or Notch , companies like Apple or the CDC health authority are parodied .
reception
The game received mostly positive reviews. It received an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars in both the App Store and Google Play.
Metacritic awards 80/100 points in the MetaScore for Plague Inc.
Trivia
- The game recorded significantly increased numbers of players and downloads, temporarily in connection with epidemics and pandemics taking place in reality. In the course of the Ebola virus epidemic from 2014 to 2016 , the number of downloads in 2014 rose by 147,000 within two weeks and the number of players by around one million. In China, Plague Inc. became the best-selling game on the App Store during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak .
- To fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Ndemic Creations raised $ 76,000 from players through a fundraising campaign.
- In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic , the game was banned in the People's Republic of China. The developer also felt compelled to issue a statement that no information about the real virus outbreak should be obtained from the game.
Individual evidence
- ↑ User tip for iOS - Plague Inc. User article. In: gamersglobal.de. August 28, 2012, accessed June 12, 2020 .
- ↑ Ndemic Creations: Plague Inc. Report Card 2013 , accessed on Aug. 16, 2014.
- ↑ Steam Store: Plague Inc. Evolved , accessed on August 16, 2014.
- ↑ Ndemic Creations: Plague Inc. Revolved , accessed on August 16, 2014.
- ↑ Plague Inc: Evolved is coming to Playstation 4 ... next week! . May 25, 2016
- ↑ Plague Inc: Evolved Infects Nintendo Switch - available now! . 2nd August 2019
- ↑ Google Play: Plague Inc. , accessed August 16, 2014.
- ↑ Tobias Ritter: Plague Inc. - Ebola epidemic increases sales . In: GameStar .de, October 28, 2014, accessed on January 24, 2020.
- ↑ Coronavirus lets players go back to the old game of exterminating humanity . In: Der Standard .de, January 22, 2020, accessed on January 24, 2020.
- ↑ Colin Campbell: Plague Inc. players raise $ 76K for Ebola fight . In: Polygon , January 27, 2015, accessed January 24, 2020.
- ^ "Epidemic game" Plague Inc. "suddenly banned in China" derstandard.at from February 28, 2020