Lifescape
| PLAYERS | 1 | VGA | - |
| SAVE | N/A | DISCS | 2 |
| GENRE | Pop Science Adventure | SYSTEM | Sega Saturn |
| RUMBLE | - | REVIEW DATE | 12/09/2003 |
Less a game and more a virtual museum, Lifescape is more worthwhile as an oddity than anything else. Using a D style interface you visit various areas learning about new things and playing short mini games. The topic of this piece of software is the "Origin of Species" or Evolution. There are two discs, Aquasphere and Landsphere. Aquasphere deals with DNA, Bacteria and early underwater life and Landsphere details the rise and fall of dinosaurs and the beginnings of man.
Being a Japanese title, the whole thing is in Japanese. If you have no grasp of the language, you can equate the experience to visiting a Japanese museum. You may not be able to understand anything but you can still look at all the exhibits and enjoy the interactive sections.
The mini games are nothing but short diversions to make learning fun for younger children. They range from a soothing Pteranodon flying sim to a leisurely day in the life of a rodent. You can even make the rodent "pass seeds" through his system resulting in tree growth. On the Aquasphere disc there is a DNA Generator in which you take various blocks and mix them together to form creatures. Don't even get me started on the Opera De Bacteria. Certainly an odd experience. I wouldn't classify any of these diversions as fun or even satisfying. This is meant to be educational software, and it shows. If you think a virtual ride through a museum sounds boring, than it's a safe bet you will hate Lifescape.
In addition to the short interactive diversions, Lifescape is packed with extensive educational video files. The video files teach you about the various subjects using live action footage, puppets and CG animation which is surprisingly good. All of the videos feature voice over work done by a calm Japanese woman who speaks slow, and clear. Video is full screen with some artifacting. It looks pretty good as far as Saturn's video compression is concerned.
Lifescape is educational software and as such, not for everyone. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a game. If however, you want an interesting piece of novelty software I think Lifescape may qualify. If you like a little more gameplay in your educational software, go after Lifescape 2 : Body Bionics. A title that allows you to explore the human body via lackluster third person shooter gameplay.
©2003 Ed Finnegan
