Wolf
This game has got to be one of the most original games I know of, it is a simulation and it lets you play out the life of a wolf. Yep that’s right you are a wolf and you have to eat, sleep and even mate (if you get a chance that is) and basically survive the dangers that exist in the wild. There are two modes of play, a single scenario like catching a hare or finding water while you are wounded but there is also a simulation mode where you are not given any goals other than to survive. You can select from three different climates, arctic, forest and plains and a number of different weather conditions and these have an impact on the kind of terrain and the prey available to you.
Once you start playing the game you’ll find out that the life of a wolf is no picnic, you’ll have to hunt or scavenge for food yourself. You can use your nose, ears and eyes to find your prey and whenever you use them you see icons representing the type of prey and the distance they are from you. The buttons used for this are on the bottom of the screen showing a wolf, here you can also view if you are tired (heart) and if you are in need of food and water (stomach). When playing a single scenario these are usually set low to increase the difficulty but in simulation mode it’s entirely up to you what to do and when to do it.
Simulation mode is something else, you can live out your life changing ranks in the pack and if you are the alpha wolf you might have an oppotunity to mate and have offspring. You can hunt together with your pack to take down large prey like moose which you could not tackle by yourself. Ofcourse the wilderness has enough dangers to face but you will also face the only predator the wolf has namely mankind. If you get too close to humans or if you try to feed on their cattle it’s quite likely that you’ll get shot so it’s best to avoid them as much as possible.
While playing the game you get a lot of information about wolves and the their way of life like ranks, behaviour and other habits. All this info can be read in the encyclopedia that is part of the game. Wolf get top marks for originality but this also means that you’ll have to play it for yourself to really get a feel for it, I like the game as I find the concept is quite intruiging. There was also a ‘sequel’ made which is called Lion which obviously has you controlling a lion. Anyone looking for something different from your average game should definately check this game out.
Overal rating: 7.5/10
This game was released for one system here are some notes:
| DOS | Released in 1994. Game has been tested but not completed on a DOS PC. The mouse control feels very jerky at times but I guess this is by design. |
| Date added | Feb-21-2005 19:23 |
| Name | Wolf |
| Developer | Sanctuary Woods |
| Publisher | Manley associates |
| First released | 1994 |
| Genre | Simulation |
