Introversion Software, an independent game development studio based in the UK, has announced their first foray into the console games market with Darwinia+. The game is a combination of the original 2005 title, Darwinia (winner of the Technical Excellence, Innovation in Visual Art and Seumas McNally Grand Prize categories at the 2006 Independent Games Festival), and its 2008 multiplayer sequel, Multiwinia.

In meeting Microsoft’s development standards for XBLA games, Introversion has stated that they have come to think of Darwinia+ as the director’s cut of the series, as it has surpassed their original expectations for the title. The UI, controls and visuals have all been overhauled to bring things up to scratch. The game will be available on 10 February 2010 for 1200 MS points.

Darwinia

The single player story driven game revolves around the research of one Dr. Sepulveda, who has created a massive digital world – Darwinia – in which single poly artificial intelligences – Darwinians – can grow and evolve.

Tragically, Darwinia has been infected by a virus, and the good doctor enlists the aid of the player to fight off the ill effects off the virus as it propagates, and ultimately track down and destroy its source.

The gameplay of Darwinia has elements of management, strategy, and God games, with some puzzles thrown in for good measure.

Multiwinia

Multiwinia follows on from the events of Darwinia, and although the utterly amazing conclusion (which we won’t spoil) transpired, the virus left its mark on the Darwinians and their social system. The Darwinians have become aggressive and split into warring factions, and are now known as Multiwinians. All this is a great precursor for multiplayer mayhem.

There are six modes which support up to four human players, with CPUs on hand to fill in if required.

With its PC gaming pedigree, Darwinia+ is almost guaranteed to be a success on XBLA. Be sure to check out the game trailer to get a look at the visuals and gameplay on offer.