Many great management games all rolled together, shoved into a rocket and flown to a donut! (Startopia (PC))

Member Name: Gee_4ce

Product:	Startopia (PC)
Date:	31/07/02 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, A combination of many great management games, Lovely graphics

Disadvantages: Initial confusion, Interface takes time to master, Multiplayer doesn't really work over 56k

Power, yes POWER! Oh sorry, I was just expressing my love for management games, honest. Well funnily enough, Startopia is not one management game, but several "all rolled together, shoved into a rocket and flown to a donut!" That donut is a space station (a Torus if you want to be technical, a dump if you don't), that has been ravaged by a galactic civil war. A chain of such stations exists, and over 10 missions (10 LONG missions I might confirm) you'll need to manage a whole host of things and be challenged by a wide range of scenarios. Keeping the 9 VERY different alien races aboard your Torus happy is just the start. Industrial development, entertainment complexes, terraforming, trade, religion, combat, medicine (a la Theme Hospital), tourism, rehabilitation and farming are just some of the things you'll get up to in the lusciously rendered and detailed fully 3D world! The combat system is a beauty to use, with no confusing statistics and health bars; the only strategy is choosing someone with good skill, dedication and loyalty levels, adding interesting decision making to the game. Rather interesting also is the concept of recources; there is just one, Energy. Not only does it power your station but it works as currency too; visitors pay in energy for facilities, but may also release additional positive energy (aka hapiness) which contributes to your funds. This creates an interesting power-purchase share that is a challenge to balance. All told, the game is a decent challenge. The only complaint for some may be the initial confusion and the sometimes tricky interface. Once you've familiarised yourself with the races and the weird and wonderful structures etc. and learnt how to use the interface properly, you are guaranteed a funny and challenging management game. And when it's all over? The sandbox or multiplayer modes give you unlimited replay! May the Force Be... oh wait, wrong one!

Summary: