It is highly intriguing and elicits quite a few time-sensitive questions on a relevant topic today... for everyone. Whether you are concerned about Contagion, Plagues, last-days scenarios, or bio-terrorism; Plague, Inc. is there.

It doesn't take too many play-throughs to realize that not all diseases are created equal. But, the game does draw you to multiple play-throughs, as you spin out each scenario, captivated by the results of minor changes in your strategy. The game starts with a basic menu of disease types in the main-game portion: Bacteria, Virus, Fungus, Parasite, Prion, Nano-Virus, Neurax Worm, Bio-Weapon, and finally Necroa (Zombies) and the Simian Flu for those who want to turn Earth into the Planet of the Apes.

The game is overflowing with feature-rich side scenarios; from real diseases past and present like The Black Death and Smallpox, to the fantasy diseases like Pirate Plague and spreading Christmas Joy, and myriads of others. And, if that weren't enough to keep you busy with the 142 achievements, they have included a workshop, so you can download community made scenarios and/or create and share your own.

High Strategy:
The premise is simple enough. You create a new disease and your goal is to watch it spread around the world. Naturally, since it is a game, you can't win by simply covering continents. You must wipe out humanity for a victory. You are able to name your disease, and choose the genetic traits, as well as the symptoms and the transmission traits for spreading the disease, whether it is something that spreads from insects, birds, by air, or sea... etc. Then, as humanity fights for a cure, you try to stop the cure before you've covered the planet.

Die-Hard Fan:
I originally reviewed the game in early access. The game has gone through many updates, and since then I was able to participate in the alpha and beta testing phases for multiplayer, which was added to the game along with the full release. So, I've updated this review to reflect all changes.

The game has given me more than 150 hours of fun in early release, and now with over 300 hours in-game, I am still exploring all the fun and challenging levels. When I first started exploring this fascinating game, I found I was able to beat the Virus and Bacteria easily; finishing off both in one play-through each. But, I found the Fungus Disease and the Black Death scenario both to be very difficult to spread before they were cured by Scientists. But, they all are accomplished with time. The game definitely contributes to obsessive personality traits, like repeated hand-washing, and 12 hour gaming sessions.

I managed to turn the Earth into a 'Planet of the Apes' with my own Simian Flu on the 2nd try. The first time, I had tried to develop the rampage gene. It didn't spread far before the humans managed to develop a cure. Too aggressive! So, I slowed it down a bit, and worked on the Simian side of the coin; developing colonies of apes, and making it spread among them, while increasing their intelligence. When the Earth was covered, I added deadly symptoms to finish it off with one quarter of the ape population surviving the human drone attacks, which were colossal-scale.

Narrative:
The game is imaginative and rich in story, not-surprisingly since plague is the story of civilization. The main game plays out on a world map. If you watch the news bits, and little popups, you see that some countries begin to execute and/or bomb whole cities of the infected, out of hysteria and fear. The disease spreads in real-time, as you are making changes in the control panel to try to counter-balance the reactions of the humans to your disease. But, there are speed and pause buttons for those who want to control the action. Also, in the single-player, opening up map and disease screens automatically pauses the game so you can get back to bursting dna bubbles when you are finished making changes.

I've already decided that Greenland is the place to go in the case of world contageon. They are so isolated that many games are lost simply because Greenland closes their ports to prevent the plague spreading.

Graphics & Sound:
The graphics are first-rate; utilizing a variety of color and fx cues to help you monitor the situation as it develops. The different countries are covered with the color of your disease, and then turn to black as the humans there all die. The control windows are amply stocked with a variety of graphs and charts to analyze your disease's progress, and at game's end, to analyze why you won or lost. The music is intense and dramatic. Different sound bits include children singling "Ring Aaround the Roses" which was a children's song from the Middle ages about the Bubonic Plague.

Multiplayer:
You can choose games with friends, random matches, co-op or versus mode. Leader boards let you know how your opponent ranks. The multiplayer community is already spreading and many more are dying for a chance to win the co-op brutal achievement. These achievements, though easy to obtain if you have a good working partnership, would probably be more difficult if you don't chat or talk to the other player to coordinate. You can't play "by the seat of your pants" here. It takes team-work.

Pros:
*High Strategy and realistic simulation gaming at it's finest
*Multiplayer Vs. & Co-op
*Extreme Replay Factor
*High level of control-The element of choice makes you feel like a Superman in game. When you make small changes, big things happen.
*Friendship forming- You will develop close partnerships in the multiplayer co-op, because you won't win otherwise.

Cons:
*You will not finish this game in under 100 hours. My testing buddy 100% it in under 200 hours, even with all the beta testing hours. I'm not finished yet.
*Though guides are certainly helpful, having a list of steps won't guarantee success because your timing and decisions effect results.

You get to enjoy what would seem on the one hand an evil and diabolic plot to exterminate the world, and on the other a biology experiment. I highly recommend this game for everyone above age 12. I rate this RTS game a 10 out of 10.

[h1]Plague, Inc. is a smooth playing simulation and real-time strategy game.[/h1] It is highly intriguing and elicits quite a few time-sensitive questions on a relevant topic today... for everyone. Whether you are concerned about Contagion, Plagues, last-days scenarios, or bio-terrorism; Plague, Inc. is there. It doesn't take too many play-throughs to realize that not all diseases are created equal. But, the game does draw you to multiple play-throughs, as you spin out each scenario, captivated by the results of minor changes in your strategy. The game starts with a basic menu of disease types in the main-game portion: Bacteria, Virus, Fungus, Parasite, Prion, Nano-Virus, Neurax Worm, Bio-Weapon, and finally Necroa (Zombies) and the Simian Flu for those who want to turn Earth into the Planet of the Apes. The game is overflowing with feature-rich side scenarios; from real diseases past and present like The Black Death and Smallpox, to the fantasy diseases like Pirate Plague and spreading Christmas Joy, and myriads of others. And, if that weren't enough to keep you busy with the 142 achievements, they have included a workshop, so you can download community made scenarios and/or create and share your own. [b]High Strategy:[/b] The premise is simple enough. You create a new disease and your goal is to watch it spread around the world. Naturally, since it is a game, you can't win by simply covering continents. You must wipe out humanity for a victory. You are able to name your disease, and choose the genetic traits, as well as the symptoms and the transmission traits for spreading the disease, whether it is something that spreads from insects, birds, by air, or sea... etc. Then, as humanity fights for a cure, you try to stop the cure before you've covered the planet. [b]Die-Hard Fan:[/b] I originally reviewed the game in early access. The game has gone through many updates, and since then I was able to participate in the alpha and beta testing phases for multiplayer, which was added to the game along with the full release. So, I've updated this review to reflect all changes. The game has given me more than 150 hours of fun in early release, and now with over 300 hours in-game, I am still exploring all the fun and challenging levels. When I first started exploring this fascinating game, I found I was able to beat the Virus and Bacteria easily; finishing off both in one play-through each. But, I found the Fungus Disease and the Black Death scenario both to be very difficult to spread before they were cured by Scientists. But, they all are accomplished with time. The game definitely contributes to obsessive personality traits, like repeated hand-washing, and 12 hour gaming sessions. I managed to turn the Earth into a 'Planet of the Apes' with my own Simian Flu on the 2nd try. The first time, I had tried to develop the rampage gene. It didn't spread far before the humans managed to develop a cure. Too aggressive! So, I slowed it down a bit, and worked on the Simian side of the coin; developing colonies of apes, and making it spread among them, while increasing their intelligence. When the Earth was covered, I added deadly symptoms to finish it off with one quarter of the ape population surviving the human drone attacks, which were colossal-scale. [b]Narrative: [/b] The game is imaginative and rich in story, not-surprisingly since plague is the story of civilization. The main game plays out on a world map. If you watch the news bits, and little popups, you see that some countries begin to execute and/or bomb whole cities of the infected, out of hysteria and fear. The disease spreads in real-time, as you are making changes in the control panel to try to counter-balance the reactions of the humans to your disease. But, there are speed and pause buttons for those who want to control the action. Also, in the single-player, opening up map and disease screens automatically pauses the game so you can get back to bursting dna bubbles when you are finished making changes. I've already decided that Greenland is the place to go in the case of world contageon. They are so isolated that many games are lost simply because Greenland closes their ports to prevent the plague spreading. [b]Graphics & Sound:[/b] The graphics are first-rate; utilizing a variety of color and fx cues to help you monitor the situation as it develops. The different countries are covered with the color of your disease, and then turn to black as the humans there all die. The control windows are amply stocked with a variety of graphs and charts to analyze your disease's progress, and at game's end, to analyze why you won or lost. The music is intense and dramatic. Different sound bits include children singling "Ring Aaround the Roses" which was a children's song from the Middle ages about the Bubonic Plague. [b]Multiplayer:[/b] You can choose games with friends, random matches, co-op or versus mode. Leader boards let you know how your opponent ranks. The multiplayer community is already spreading and many more are dying for a chance to win the co-op brutal achievement. These achievements, though easy to obtain if you have a good working partnership, would probably be more difficult if you don't chat or talk to the other player to coordinate. You can't play "by the seat of your pants" here. It takes team-work. [b]Pros: [/b] *High Strategy and realistic simulation gaming at it's finest *Multiplayer Vs. & Co-op *Extreme Replay Factor *High level of control-The element of choice makes you feel like a Superman in game. When you make small changes, big things happen. *Friendship forming- You will develop close partnerships in the multiplayer co-op, because you won't win otherwise. [b]Cons:[/b] *You will not finish this game in under 100 hours. My testing buddy 100% it in under 200 hours, even with all the beta testing hours. I'm not finished yet. *Though guides are certainly helpful, having a list of steps won't guarantee success because your timing and decisions effect results. [h1]Verdict: Plague Inc is an awesome game that makes the scientific/academic investigation humorous. [/h1] You get to enjoy what would seem on the one hand an evil and diabolic plot to exterminate the world, and on the other a biology experiment. I highly recommend this game for everyone above age 12. I rate this RTS game a 10 out of 10.