Description
On a far away planet, three races fight for control of the few landmasses available: the marooned Meccs, who specialize in firearms and other things that go boom, the mystical and cold-blooded Reapers, who were the original inhabitants of the planet, but were forced to live in the sea by Kabuto, the third character; a truly gigantic monster with a ravenous appetite and a fondness for performing wrestling maneuvers on those the size of his hand.
You can control any of these races (although in the single player mode, you have to progress through the storylines of the Meccs and Reapers first) in their bid to be the dominant species. Each species various in the way they play the game and have vastly different types of attacks available to them.
Giants: Citizen Kabuto is an action/real-time-strategy game that emphasizes action. While there is base-building and resource management for most of the races, it is a done through a simple to control interface and one or two keystrokes. The majority of the game is spent in a third person view (first person mode is available) jet-packing/warping/leaping about the 3D landscape. Single player sessions consist of missions with specific goals, such as rescuing Smarties or recovering lost items. Multiplayer options include standard deathmatch, capture the Smartie (flag), the above with basebuilding as an option.
Other creatures also inhabit the islands. From the meek Smarties (who are employed to build your bases or eaten as a primary source of protein, depending on your species), to the cow-like vimps to the deadly rippers, the fauna of the planet will either try to kill you or avoid being killed/eaten/captured. While not so energetic, the floral of the islands can be crushed, knocked over, or burned in careless combat (or by Kabuto not paying attention).
Game controls are similar to
Shiny's MDK and can best be described a simplified shooter interface. You can run, jump, turn, shoot, and strafe. Beyond that, a half-dozen keystrokes are all you need to play (and some, like Kabuto's howls, are for fun and show).
The alien world in the game is bright and presented with vibrant colors. In addition, the game tries to maintain a humorous streak. The single player game has goofy dialogue and a few jokes spread along its story line and even the multiplayer is lighthearted, with Smarties cheering you on as you carry them on your back, among other little sounds and nuances.
Alternate Titles
- "巨人：公民Kabuto" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
- "Giants: Obywatel Kabuto" -- Polish title
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Trivia
Development
Giants: Citizen Kabuto was developed over many years by
Planet Moon, one of
Interplay's "studios". However, it took so long to make that it became Planet Moon's first
and last product for Interplay. Programmer
Andy Astor passed away from cancer during the production of the game.
Extras
From the readme.txt:
If you pre ordered Giants from one of the participating stores like, "http://www.interplay-store.com" you will also receive the additional Lost World multiplayer maps. Only players with this bonus CD will be able to host multiplayer games with the bonus maps. You can still join Lost World map games without this CD.
However, some copies sold direct from retail stores shortly after release also contained the bonus CD.
OEM version
Creative Labs' Audigy Gamer sound card shipped with a copy of
Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
Title
"Kabuto" is Japanese for helmet, often describing the great war helmets of the samurai, which sometimes had decorative antlers and spikes.
US version
Due to concerns about the game's ratings, the topless Sea Ravens got a bra. It can be removed by deleting a file from the HD. However, the game was rated "M" anyway.
The bra was also added for all PlayStation 2 releases.
Information also contributed by
Adam Baratz,
Kasey Chang,
Scott Monster and
SDfish.
