TGS 2007: EA developing Populous remake for DS

During the Electronic Arts pre-TGS press event, EA Japan’s lead designer Takahiro Murakami confirmed that the popular god game Populous is currently in development. During the event, Murakami – also the designer for SimCity DS – was finally able to announce that the remake of Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog’s video game will heading to the Nintendo DS.

He also told the press that Populous DS has only been in production for six months, so there’s still no release date for the game; neither are there screenshots or video clips of Populous DS. Fortunately, Murakami was able to shed light on some important game details. He said that like the original Populous computer game, players will be playing the role of a deity who’s responsible for nurturing a civilization and shaping the landscape in their attempt to win against another civilization under the rule of another deity. In this Nintendo DS remake of the game though, multiple deities will be featured. Some new powers had also been added to make the video game more interesting.

The Nintendo DS version will do away with the book layout and have a new design for the game. Murakami assured though that the game will remain recognizable as the original Populous. The interface has been revamped to accommodate the handheld’s dual screen. Players can use either the D-pad or the stylus in the game. Populous DS will also have a story mode with a tutorial to help out the player.

The most interesting feature of Populous DS is perhaps the addition of a multiplayer battle mode where up to four players can compete. How the battles will play out was not discussed in detail, but EA’s Murakami mentioned that, “Just because you move your controller or stylus fast doesn’t mean you’ll win; you’ll have to think.”

So will Populous for the Nintendo DS be as promising as the original version? We’ll have to wait until Electronic Arts shows us more assets and gameplay details before we can finally say that Populous DS is worth another Origins Award for Best Military or Strategy Computer Game – or any award equivalent to it.

During the Electronic Arts pre-TGS press event, EA Japan’s lead designer Takahiro Murakami confirmed that the popular god game Populous is currently in development. During the event, Murakami – also the designer for SimCity DS – was finally able to announce that the remake of Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog’s video game will heading to the Nintendo DS.

He also told the press that Populous DS has only been in production for six months, so there’s still no release date for the game; neither are there screenshots or video clips of Populous DS. Fortunately, Murakami was able to shed light on some important game details. He said that like the original Populous computer game, players will be playing the role of a deity who’s responsible for nurturing a civilization and shaping the landscape in their attempt to win against another civilization under the rule of another deity. In this Nintendo DS remake of the game though, multiple deities will be featured. Some new powers had also been added to make the video game more interesting.

The Nintendo DS version will do away with the book layout and have a new design for the game. Murakami assured though that the game will remain recognizable as the original Populous. The interface has been revamped to accommodate the handheld’s dual screen. Players can use either the D-pad or the stylus in the game. Populous DS will also have a story mode with a tutorial to help out the player.

The most interesting feature of Populous DS is perhaps the addition of a multiplayer battle mode where up to four players can compete. How the battles will play out was not discussed in detail, but EA’s Murakami mentioned that, “Just because you move your controller or stylus fast doesn’t mean you’ll win; you’ll have to think.”

So will Populous for the Nintendo DS be as promising as the original version? We’ll have to wait until Electronic Arts shows us more assets and gameplay details before we can finally say that Populous DS is worth another Origins Award for Best Military or Strategy Computer Game – or any award equivalent to it.