Constructor
Download from http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=2924

                      Reviewed by Sue

I bought Constructor several years ago - it's dated 1997 and a
Windows 95 game. I got it running happily under Me but not XP.
Even on Me I couldn't get the sound working properly but I kept
playing anyway.

In Constructor, you take the part of a property tycoon. Your
ultimate aim, it says on the box, is to control the city. You
start with one plot of land but as the game proceeds you will have
the chance to buy more. On this land, you start by building a wood
yard. This gives you the basis for building your first wooden
house. It's a humble log cabin but it's a start.

Once the building is finished, it's time to find a tenant. You
won't get anyone very nice for this poor house, only a family of
slobs or greasers.  Never mind, they'll do. They can either
provide rent money or have babies that will grow up to be workers
or more tenants. At first the tenants they produce will be the
same level as them (ie more slobs and greasers). But if you give
them computers, their children will be more intelligent and can
produce tenants at the next level - level 2 in this case.

There are three different styles of level 1 house. Once you've
built one of each, you'll be invited to build a cement works.
When that's in operation you can build level 2 houses with their
better class of tenant ... but not by much. This time they are
students and punks. They can also provide rent, more tenants like
themselves or a level higher (if you add a computer to their
house) or police cadets.

In the mean time your current tenants can be a picky bunch. If
they're too close to one of your factories, they'll moan about the
noise. They'll ask for new fencing and trees in their gardens. If
a DIYer bodges a job indoors, they'll expect YOU to sort it out.
Heaven forbid they should see a cockroach in a neighbouring
garden! Or they may just insist you drop their rent. Fail to do
any of these things, and you'll get black marks with the council.
Of course, if some tenants cause you too much grief, you could
just evict them - though they may do some damage on their way out.

Sometimes you'll be set tasks to do. Get them right and you'll get
white marks to offset any black marks you get. Get them wrong and
you could have some of your properties repossessed or, at the
worst, have your developer's license taken away from you so it's
'Game Over' time.

The Gadget Factory plays a big part in much of this. You'll be
able to build this some way into the game. It lets you make items
to satisfy your tenants such as computers, trees, subway stations
(to help your workmen travel round the map quicker), and lots of
other goodies, most of which I haven't seen, let alone used.
Options are gradually revealed as you play.

The buildings and tenants go through five levels. In the higher
levels you'll build mock Tudor houses and beach houses. There are
special commissions too such as the Russian Winter Palace and a
pyramid. All of these need a considerable amount of manpower and
resources and most won't even be offered to you unless you fulfil
some pretty stringent conditions. The plans for some of them come
from high level tenants. I assume producing them will be another
option instead of more tenants, money etc.  In a similar way there
are Super Tenants that are only produced as the fifth example of a
particular level eg the fifth of the Professor's family is a
Doctor and the fifth of the Stockbroker's family is a Magistrate.

There are four main missions. To win at Financial Conquest you
need a million dollars in the bank and no debts to the Bank, mob
or tax man at the end of 40 years. For Egomania you must build one
of each type of house including all the special commissions.  In
World Domination you must own one residential property on every
estate on the board. Utopian States requires you to have at least
three of each type of tenant at more than 90% happiness - a tall
order! There's also a sandbox level.

All of these games can be played solo, against up to three
computer opponents or over a network. There are three difficulty
levels, several maps and fixed or random starts. For some games
you have to play against at least one computer opponent.

There's much, much more to the game, especially when you have
opponents because you have to try to mess up their game while they
do the same to you. You can call in the mob or hire an undesirable
like a Ghost, Psycho or Thief. This makes the game a lot harder. I
found my opponent had pinched all my stock of wood and cement and
I had no idea how to stop him apart from taking over his building.

If I'd got the sound working properly in this game, it's one I
would play for a long, long time. As it is, even playing silently,
it's very entertaining. I've got the boxed version but you can
download it from Underdogs.





                              - o -