Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Planet Moon
As you might expect from the name, there is a lot about Giants that is, well... big. We've been graced with a big amount of hype about it for years now, but what you'll want to know is if it delivers on this hype. Well, as I discovered while playing it, it's not only been hyped big, but it has big guns (care of the Meccaryns), big spells (thanks to the Sea Reapers) and big… well, the colossal Kabuto is just plain big. Serve all that up with a healthy side order of big vistas and big belly laughs and… well, it's probably already pretty obvious that I really, really like this game. Big time.
It's not much to ask, is it? All the Meccaryns want to do is get to Planet Majorca for sun, sea, beer, birds (that's cockney for “women”, you little blighters) and some of the best fish and chips this side of Orion's Belt. Of course, they don't make it there though, or Giants wouldn't be much of a game. Instead their ship is damaged and they end up stranded on The Island, a beautiful, gargantuan chunk of planet hurtling through space and covered mostly by water, with the occasional island dotting its surface. The Island is inhabited by the evil Sea Reapers, who are trying to enslave the diminutive Smartie race. Also inhabiting the island is the unstoppable Citizen Kabuto, a titanic creature created by the Sea Reapers. The tale of Giants is progressed, as you'd expect, through a number of cutscenes. What you might not expect though is that these cut scenes are some of the funniest I've ever come across in a game. That's right, humour in an action game.