IN A WORD: MAYBE
IN SHORT:
Zitat:
OF A SIMILAR NATURE TO: Pandemic (probably)
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Contemporary pandemic setting. Boardgame clone. Elegent design. Basic mechanics. Superficial depth. Narrow strategy options. Repetitive gameplay. Short games, very dependent on difficulty. Very polished production values. Singleplayer only. Workshop integration but little additional scenarios.
ACHIEVEMENTS: BALANCED.
STATUS: COMPLETE. BUT SHOULD BE IN EA. NOW UNSUPPORTED.
WHEN TO BUY: ON A BIG SALE.
More info below....
THE LOWDOWN:
Quarantine is essentially a clone of a boardgame called Pandemic [which has its own digital adaptation.] Its easy to pick and start playing; 1) pick a strain of pathogen. 2) Choose a difficulty. 3) Select a starting specialist. Gameplay takes place on a global map with around two dozen plus cities which vary, depending on the scenario. The pathogen controlled by the AI then gets to infect a number of cities with a certain level of the strain before the player selects a starting location for their organization's HQ.
Gameplay continues in alternating turns with the player managing the global situation and the AI taking the role of pathogen. Each strain has its own coded behaviour and attempts to spread across the globe to eradicate the human population, before the player attempts to find a cure and eradicate it.
During a turn the player can perform a variety of actions. These include: purchasing more specialists, researching the strain and adopting new technologies. Specialists are moved from city to city to perform a variety of actions including; treating population to reduce global infection, quarantining cities to slow the spread of the pathogen, gather samples to undertake research and build more offices to generate more funds. Research aims to find a cure. While techs make available increased capabilities, efficient infrastructure or cheaper options. To speed-up both of those actions technicians and researchers can be employed with funds.
There are occasional dynamic events that use up badly needed player resources. These can accelerate the spread of infection if they are not dealt with successfully. Specialists may receive injuries during actions but can rest to heal themselves. Each pathogen can also mutate which increases the effort needed to find a cure. Eradicating the pathogen in the cities or finding a cure through research brings victory.
The game has Steam Workshop integration from which owners of the game can create and upload their own pandemic scenarios. There are less than a handful of scenarios. Only one of which I bothered to try a few times.
THE GOOD:
+ Pretty looking graphics.
+ Clean, crisp GUI.
+ Enjoyable for the first half-dozen games. Until gameplay begins to feel stale.
+ Cheap. Usually available on a hefty sale.
THE BAD:
- Games over to quickly. Especially on Easy and Medium difficulties.
- Superficial complexity. Only one scenario on Easy or Normal proved a challenge.
- No great depth to strategy. Required additional mechanics. Unsupported beyond release.
- No multiplayer. Could have added another dimension with other players responsible for their own corner of the world (office) and more so a player controlling the strain.
- Everything seems overbalanced. There is little room for maneouvre or tailoring individual strategies. At least for the easier difficulties.
AND THE ORDINARY:
* Well implemented mechanics. Missing badly needed depth. Esp. to tech and research elements.
* A decent range of dynamic events. Needed more of them.
* Well conceived scenarios. Just needed more of them. With greater depth.
* Steam workshop could have added more user-made content but for a lack of interest.
* Only mid-game phase seems varied. Early and End game phases have little variation.
VERDICT:
Quarantine would seem the perfect title to be playing during these crazy times. At least if it had not been abandoned so quickly after release. The core game is well-designed, well-made with some good production values. Components meld together to form a very credible representation of coordinating the global response to a pandemic. The seed of strategic challenge is there but playing what is essentially the same game repeatedly, gets boring fast.
From the number of scenarios to the depth of mechanics, there just isn't enough content. Games rarely play beyond the first twenty to twenty-five turns. The lack of components meant that while the mid-game phases were enjoyable and challenging, early-game phases seem inherently narrow in nature, while end-game phases tend to fizzle out. The same tactics can be used to complete almost all the scenarios on easy and normal difficulties. This makes for a superficial experience.
Essentially the challenge boils down to a balancing act of; growing the organisation, minimising infection spread and treating infected population to keep the global rate below a threshold. Beyond this not even the dynamic events or the pathogen mutating can truly change the course of a game. They only serve to delay the inevitable, unless the player is sloppy or new to the game. While the researching of new technology or discovering the DNA of the pathogen to find a cure extends what little gameplay there is, it was no where near enough for me.
The slick interface design and clean graphical polish do not quite make up for the lacking depth of gameplay and lack of features. Its a real shame because Quarantine isn't bad. It had the potential seed to be a very good game that I would expect to shine beyond its individual parts. As it is, it remains a shiny bauble. One that may attract attention but fades quickly, to be put aside for more meaningful pursuits. Achievement completion is possible but not that quickly or easily.
Therefore I would grudgingly recommend this only on a big sale to anyone who may be interested in a distraction from their usual fare. Otherwise this can be safely passed unless searching for a game to remind yourselves of this year, 2020 - the year of Covid-19.
