Space Colony

"A clone on the surface, but a sweet piece of work on the inside."

Space Colony: A clone on the surface, but a sweet piece of work on the inside.

Graphics: 7

The graphics are admirably rounded and detailed. There are no mouth movements for the characters' speech (Which is 100% voiced) and CG cinemas are few and far between. But the game does its job of making you in charge of a space colony quite adequately. All of the characters have their own look, way of moving about, interactions with the environment, and various other little quirks that make them stand out. The structures are all well designed, and look reasonably realistic, no matter what character is operating them. However, there are downsides. The character models used when characters frequent the Sauna or Jacuzzi or shower aren't NEARLY as robustly detailed as the main character models, and wind up looking somewhat generic. Especially the ones in the shower are little more than skin colored blobs (but then I guess it was wrong of me to want more...) It's very smooth on the 600/800 setting, but if I set the resolution higher it slows down a bit, and my system has at least double the recommended stats all around.

Sound: 7.5

I had to add in an extra half point for the ability to modify the music list if you wish. The game has an option where you can literally add MP3's from your computer into the game to be cycled as background music. That doesn't mean they were lazy about the music, there are 18 perfectly decent tracks packaged in with the game, but the ability to have my favorite video game songs from the likes of Xenosaga and Final Fantasy in the background while I manage my colony is something of a gift. Heck, you can even have Metallica or Linkin Park in the background if you want. You can even randomize the playlist, and select the amount of time you want to pass in silence between songs. Outside of this customizability, the sounds are all admirably done. The machines all sound like you would expect futuristic machines to sound. The voice-overs are what drag the score down a little. They're kinda goofy, but they fit with the goofy look and feel of the game, so they don't drag it down TOO much. The characters can interact as in The Sims, but because it's in English the conversations can feel broken at times because they have general pre-programmed responses instead of actually depending on what two people are talking. Good sound overall, with an extra option I absolutely love.

Gameplay: 8

Personally I was able to melt into this a lot easier than The Sims. The game just has a more relaxed feel, despite having more characters at a time and actual GOALS for you to accomplish. This is largely because you don't have to tell them what to do all the time. You can give them two jobs (one primary and the other secondary) and they will do them within their scheduled times as long as you keep them happy by letting them relax and interact. Their work schedule gets shorter if they're upset, and longer if they're happy, so it's to your advantage to keep everyone as happy as you can. The interactions, thus far, seem rather limited. You can only tell them to talk, lead them to a rec-room type area where they'll talk through their differences, or have one invite another to join them in taking advantage of one of your colony's fine recreational facilities like the aforementioned Jacuzzi and Sauna. I'm not sure what the ''Be mine'' option does yet, but given that the game is rated ''T'' for a reason clearly stated on the back fo the box, I don't think it's such a big mystery. In addition to all of this, you also have to defend your little colony against hostile alien forces, keep the power and oxygen supplies at good levels, attract tourists, and harvest a variety of products for funding. Seem like a lot to do? It is, but it's never dull or especially overbearing (not yet anyway). There is an option to speed up time, but thus far I have had no desire to use it. While everyone's working I like to get those who are off duty and have them do some leisurely activities. Very well thought out and quite enjoyable.

Story: 5

Strictly arbitrary, and more to introduce you to the games concepts and mechanics than to tell a story (up to the point I'm at anyway). I won't give is a 1 because it does its job well, but it deserves no special praise because it's rather unoriginal.

Features: 8

In addition to the customizable MP3 playlist, the game also supports several modes. 1 is the Story Mode, where you play through the creation of your very own space colony. Another is the Sandbox mode, which is basically this game’s version of The Sims. You’re given some crewmembers and a wad of cash with which to start your own colony from scratch on your choice of about ten different planets, each with its own climate and challenges to overcome. Third is the Galaxy mode, in which you can select a world and accomplish different tasks that the game sets for you, such as raising the happiness level of an already unhappy crew with no money by trading materials and purchasing what they need to become happy. There are also map editors, and scenario editors as well, so that you can create your own missions and maps. This would be great, but thus far Space Colony doesn’t seem to have enough of a fanbase to take full advantage of these features. Still it’s a fairly diverse setup, and allows you to effectively play pretty much any style you want between the three main modes, and take advantage of your creativity by challenging friends with the creation modes.

Overall: 7

So, does this mean Space Colony is BETTER than The Sims? That's an unfair question. They're both simulators, but they simulate different things (even though the box-art for Space Colony is clearly designed to mimic that of The Sims). One is human life, the other is more along the lines of business management. Which do you like? Pick it, and run with it, because either or both choices are good ones. Me personally... I think I'll be playing Space Colony for a while yet, while I haven't touched my Sims in a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/03