Theme Park meets Settlers, with a bit of Sim City thrown in" (Startopia (PC))

Member Name: brianlfc

Product:	Startopia (PC)
Date:	25/06/01 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Fun, Great lastability

Disadvantages: Takes a while to get used to controlling the game

Theme Park and Sim City meets Theme Hospital, with a bit of Settlers in Space thrown in, that’s about the best way to describe this excellent and just released game from Eidos Interactive and Muckyfoot. The game is immense, and has plenty of options, which include online playing capabilities and is tipped to be THE next big strategy simulation game craze and my first impressions are, IT WILL.

So what is Startopia all about?
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Well, you are given the responsibility of running a alien space station, but these are no ordinary aliens, they are very particular aliens, and require certain things to help them survive, make them happy, cure their ailments and even be reformed from criminals.

There are 3 different modes of playing the game, I myself have only tried the first option, and absolutely loved it, the three different modes are:

Mission Mode:
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This is the mode I have tried myself, basically you are given a task to solve with each mode, this can either be, just building up your settlement to a certain size and keeping them happy and entertained, trading and earning a certain amount of energy credits or you may have to either cure sick aliens or rehabilitate alien criminals. The first few levels are pretty simple, but as the game goes on, you are thrown problem after problem, and you must solve them using your tactical brain.

Sandbox Mode:
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This is just a build and enjoy mode, in other words, you have no true aims, just build up the colony, keep them fed, cured and entertained, whilst trading amongst other things.

Multiplayer mode:
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In this mode, you are allowed to play with someone on the other side of the world, over the Internet, I have not tried this mode neither, so can’t really comment on it.

So what does the game play like?
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Well, with it bei
ng a 3-D strategy simulation, the controlling of the game needs a lot of getting used to, as your building area is in fact confined to an enclosed space station and if you don’t have a very decent computer and graphics card, it can be very irritating, but if your computer is at least a Pentium 400 with a decent graphics card, then you can play the game without much trouble.

The graphics a very good, and you are enabled to zoom right in to the aliens and actually ask them questions like “Is the alien hungry?” to which he will answer you; this gives you the idea of what is missing in your space station

There are some excellent things you have to build to keep your aliens happy, things like Love-nests and Disco’s, these will enable the aliens to veg out and get some much needed love. Honestly, there are too many things to mention and I have only actually played four levels, so what else awaits me is unknown.

You also need to employ the aliens, to help you run the station smoothly, but you must employ the right aliens to do the correct jobs i.e. The Salt Hogs will do all the dirty and general work like running your Re-cycling plant, then you have The Greys, these are your future doctors and medical assistants, so make sure you employ the correct aliens for certain tasks. There are nine different alien species, and you have to keep each race happy, healthy and employed.

There are three levels or decks to the space station, first you have the Technical deck, this is where all the Hospitals, Living quarters, Recycling plant, Energy collector, etc utilities are housed. Then you have the Pleasure Deck, this is where your aliens will have their fun and relax in Hotels, Disco’s, Pleasure rooms, etc. And finally you have the Bio Deck; on here you grow food and plants (I think, as I am yet to reach that far).

The game is real fun to play, but at the same time, can be very challenging and time-consuming, s
o look forward to not seeing any proper living creatures for a while, whilst you get enthralled by this excellent game.

I have only played the game because a friend actually got it sent to him from the USA, It has only just been released onto our shelves at a cost of around £20.00, so if you are into this type of game, I strongly recommend you get out and buy it, as it is going to be a MASSIVE hit, so remember, you read it here FIRST!

Summary: