"Darwinia" proves there's something good about being small.

Crafted last year by the handful of programmers at Introversion Software, the downloadable game for Windows, Linux and Mac OSX sets itself apart with a retro, indie vibe.

The underlying game play doesn't deviate much from other real-time strategy titles: deploy forces, gather resources to expand your army, and conquer territory.

It's the comically touching story, brilliant visuals and ease of play that make "Darwinia" such a standout.

The game happens in the virtual universe of Dr. Sepulveda's Darwin Digital Life Project. For years now, the ambitious, bespectacled Sepulveda has been breeding and evolving digital denizens he calls Darwinians on his computer servers.

But a problem has emerged, one many of us real computer users can identify with: an evil virus has contaminated the Darwinians' home, systematically wiping them out at every turn.

As an unexpected visitor, your job is to help Sepulveda take back what the sinister virus has destroyed.

Your tools include bits of computer code like engineers and squaddies, which can reprogram structures to assist you, lob grenades and even call in air strikes to eliminate the baddies.

But this game is really all about the poor little Darwinians. I couldn't help but care about my horde of little green stick figures.

I highly suggest you buy the game via Valve Corp.'s Steam network, which saved me $10 for the direct download. If you insist on a physical boxed copy, you'll have to pay full retail of $29.95 plus shipping at Introversion's Web site (www.darwinia.co.uk).

Introversion Software, via Associated Press

In "Darwinia," players must save the residents from a destructive virus.