Space Colony (PC)

Reviewed by PETER ELEY

Herald rating: * * * *

Space Colony seems to have gone through a black hole and come out in lots of inter-connected bits.

It's a Sims-in-space, city-building war game, complete with alien life forms, androids, soccer hooligans, grumpy Scots, hillbillies and dumb blondes.

That just about covers all the bases except computer tiddlywinks and there's so much going on in this game that even that might just crop up somewhere.

The task is to build a space colony. That would be a lot easier if you didn't have a crowd of crazy colonists to keep happy. Think Celebrity Treasure Island on Mars and you'll get the idea.

Try putting white trash Tami in the same room as wannabe Romeo Greg, or mix super-cool Slim with the aggressive Nailer and you'll see some shooting stars.

They all have specific tasks to perform, with different strengths and weaknesses. Managing them effectively is the key to building a thriving colony.

The characters are cartoonish and the environments are enhanced 2D. It's not cutting-edge technology, but fits the zany nature of the game nicely.

City-building Sim-type stuff is only part of the package. You have to search for minerals and mine them, and use the resulting credits to build up your base defences and deal to hostile aliens.

The main part of the game is mission-based, and there's a lot going on here. Space Colony won't suit those who need a daily dose of Ritalin.

Getting through these missions requires concentration and discipline and the ability to solve some tough puzzles.

Less-dedicated players will prefer the standalone scenarios, and sandbox mode, which lets you build a colony the way you want. A scenario editor adds shelf life, although there is no multiplayer mode.

The Gathering

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