Attack on Titan is a famous manga and anime where people confront titans. They are Billions is a real-time strategy game where people fight off hordes of zombies. From the outside it seems that there are no points of contact here. But if you study both universes carefully, the coincidences become obvious. And far from being in favor of the cult Japanese work.
Attack Titanov
It’s hard to imagine that someone hasn’t heard about the anime “Attack on Titan.” This is a whole world inhabited by titans – giant humanoid creatures who love to eat people. Moreover, the titans love human meat only for its taste, but not for its calorie content. After a meal, they regurgitate what they eat.
This proximity forced the surviving people to hide behind the walls. Their technological progress was stuck at the level of the Middle Ages, but such measures allowed them to survive. People’s peace was guarded by soldiers who moved with the help of grappling hooks and fought with giant swords that looked like stationery knives.
Alas, the world did not last forever. In front of the outer wall, a titan of colossal size appeared as if out of thin air. He destroyed the gate and let the titans inside, who began to devour people. This disaster led to the death of many people. But it also became the beginning of the story of Eren Yeager, a very aggressive boy who vowed to destroy all the titans. And there is a possibility that he will achieve success in his endeavors.
They are Billions
In They are Billions, you control a small colony of people. You are surrounded by zombies on all sides, and you need to quickly get rid of them. You hire soldiers, clear the territory, and use the freed up resources. From time to time your base will be stormed by hordes of zombies. It’s easy to get rid of them, but the enemy takes advantage of numbers. And even one infected person can cause a lot of problems. After all, apparently, the buildings are made of cardboard. Any house is destroyed after several blows. New infected people run out of it and run towards the nearest houses. Thus, this infection spreads like wildfire.
In terms of gameplay, there are many similarities with the tower defense genre . You build towers and reinforce them with soldiers. After the repulse, all that remains is to regroup and strengthen the defenses in order to prepare for the next wave. The difference is that players are not limited to a starting position. The base needs to be expanded. If everything is done correctly, then it will not be the zombies that go to the towers, but the human towers that will come to the zombies.
Up to a certain point, the game was just a fun sandbox. But over time, a full-fledged campaign came out. It tells the story of the New Empire: a large colony where a group of people fenced themselves off with a high wall from flesh-eating monsters. Emperor Quintus Crane – the founder of the New Empire and a charismatic leader – decides to return the lands that rightfully belong to the people. You will become the thirteenth general to try his luck in capturing new lands.
During the passage the player will find newspaper clippings. They tell about the history of this world, when everything was fine with humanity. Medicine has developed so much that life expectancy has increased significantly. The quality of life was so high that people did not want to leave their homes. Everyone lived and multiplied in inhabited cities that seemed like paradise.
Up to a certain point, the game was just a fun sandbox. But over time, a full-fledged campaign came out. It tells the story of the New Empire: a large colony where a group of people fenced themselves off with a high wall from flesh-eating monsters. Emperor Quintus Crane – the founder of the New Empire and a charismatic leader – decides to return the lands that rightfully belong to the people. You will become the thirteenth general to try his luck in capturing new lands.
During the passage the player will find newspaper clippings. They tell about the history of this world, when everything was fine with humanity. Medicine has developed so much that life expectancy has increased significantly. The quality of life was so high that people did not want to leave their homes. Everyone lived and multiplied in inhabited cities that seemed like paradise.
Over time, the world’s population increased to 80 billion. Problems with food arose, and the government came up with a brilliant idea – to feed people human flesh. This diet turned people into zombies. The infected spread the infection with great speed and could not be stopped. And then the scientists came up with another brilliant idea – to conduct uncontrolled experiments on the infected. As a result, mutants appeared, which only accelerated the fall of humanity.
But humanity did not give up without a fight. It used its entire arsenal against the zombies – it was a terrible massacre. This can be judged by the fact that the New Empire was founded in the crater left after the explosion. But even such measures were not enough. All that remains of its former greatness are pitiful islands of civilization. All progress has rolled back to the level of the steam engine. And the survivors can only dream of returning their lost lands.
Why They Are Billions is better
In the early seasons of Attack on Titan, the idea was simple, and it was expressed by Eren Yeager. He believed that humanity should not sit behind walls – people are not animals and have the right to live freely. But to do this you need to destroy all the titans.
Over time, it turns out that there are other people. But they are far from friendly. They dream of destroying the people who live behind the walls. The reason for this is fear and centuries-old grievances.
But the conflict takes the main element of the anime into the background – the battle with the titans. Previously, our heroes had to fight against deadly monsters that were difficult to kill. And I would like to see more time devoted to such battles. But instead they showed battles between people and people who are much more fragile. And instead of unusual weapons, more familiar ones began to be used to kill titans. Anime has moved away from what people loved it for.
There is no such problem with They are Billions. Throughout the campaign, the player wrests more and more lands from the clutches of zombies. The discovery of new technologies allows you to create soldiers, snipers, and titans. With such power you feel confident even at a high level of difficulty. I just want to build a giant colony, the very existence of which tells the zombies: “try to eat it.”
There are no moral dilemmas, no departure from the main idea and no attempts at deep philosophical reasoning about the essence of man – there is a player, there is a goal, there is an enemy. Go ahead units, multiply and slaughter!
The main mystery is the past of the world. The secret of the appearance of zombies and the reason for the fall of humanity were unknown. The emperor also raised doubts. He has a typical villainous appearance and behavior. But to everyone’s surprise, Quintus Crane shows himself to be a reasonable leader who values his subordinates.
Analysis
Attack on Titan and They are Billions have a lot in common. In both universes, there is a group of people who have to live behind giant walls. Bloodthirsty monsters are waiting for them outside. And technological progress is stuck at the level of the Middle Ages.
But the implementation of this concept varies. If you want to see human nature unfold, watch Attack on Titan. If you prefer to exterminate the enemies of humanity without fear or reproach, leaving philosophy and whining behind, then give They are Billions a chance. There is no shortage of vile creatures there.
