Windows

Space Colony

Combining the addictive life-simulation aspects of The Sims with real-time strategy elements, Firefly Studios has produced Space Colony, a tough, funny, and very charismatic hybrid.

When all is said and done, though, Space Colony has a great campaign, a galaxy mode which keeps you coming back for single missions, a sandbox mode that lets you play in a setting and under conditions of your choosing, and the now-required map editor. Throw in great music, the ability to listen to your own mp3s during gameplay, a damn fine all around gaming experience and what you end up with is a complete package that deserves your attention. Pick this one up, unless you hate having fun.

Mocht het je nog niet duidelijk zijn geworden in de tekst hierboven, dan vertel ik het je nog eens. Space Colony is een ongelooflijke leuke en verslavende game geworden, met lekker veel nieuws. De levels zijn gevarieerd, de karakters zijn leuk om naar te kijken en mee te spelen en het geheel voelt gewoon 'af'. Voor doorgewinterde sim gamers zal dit even wennen zijn, maar ik ben er zeker van dat een groot deel van hen het hart verliest aan de charme van Space Colony. Lief, schattig, leuk, verslavend en innovatief. Een klein kunstwerkje van FireFly.

Wer Wirtschaftssimulation mit Charakter und schrägem Humor mag, der sollte nicht lange überlegen und sich diesen Titel zulegen. Es macht einfach Spaß, dem Treiben auf der eigenen Station zuzuschauen, auch wenn einen die Bewohner das ein oder andere mal wirklich in den Wahnsinn treiben können. Zudem bietet das Spiel mit dem Aufbau- und dem Militärpart viel Abwechslung, und gerade für Freunde von Endlosspielen dürfte Firefly´s Sandkasten die richtige Option sein.

Whenever a game attempts to ride on the success of a popular franchise, I cringe. When “The Sims” kept popping up around Space Colony (SC) I was ready to write it off out-of-hand. The only thing that stopped me was the sci-fi setting. For maybe the second or third time, I’m glad I stayed my hand and actually played the game before reviewing it.

Die Stronghold-Macher der Firefly Studios haben offenbar genug vom finsteren Mittelalter und schicken Aufbau-Strategen nun zu den Sternen. Space Colony ist halb Dungeon Keeper, halb Die Sims. Im Auftrag eines pangalaktischen Konzerns sollen Sie auf fernen Planeten Basen bauen und ihre Bewohner bei Laune halten. Genau 20 davon bilden Ihr Kolonistenteam, jeder mit eigenen Vorlieben, Bedürfnissen und Fähigkeiten. So bastelt Opa Zhang nur dann Arbeitsroboter zusammen, wenn er genügend Schlaf bekommt und ab und an im Meditationsraum entspannen kann. Stig Svensson rockt lieber in der stationseigenen Disco ab, ist sich dafür aber für keine Drecksarbeit zu schade.

Züchte ich jetzt lieber Space-Hühner oder baue ich lukrative Iridium-Kristalle ab? Oder sollen die Soldaten losziehen, um die fiesen Sandwürmer auszuräuchern? Viele spaßige Möglichkeiten, doch hätten die Entwickler sie noch ausbauen sollen. Denn für einen echten Hit fehlen Space Colony komplexere Produktionsketten und mehr militärische Einheiten. Dafür schaue ich immer wieder gern zu, welchen Einfluss meine Entscheidungen auf die Siedlung haben. Und die Kolonisten halten mich mit ihren vielen Bedürfnissen ständig auf Trab.

They say that in space, no one can here you scream. With Space Colony, the latest release from up and coming game developer Firefly Studios, it might be more fitting to say ‘no one can hear you laugh’ because if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that the echoes of your loud guffaws will be bouncing around the cold dark expanse of space while experiencing this light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek Space Colony simulation.

That's the rallying cry for Space Colony, a goofy and dazzlingly original game from Firefly Studios. A mind-bending mesh of a Sims-like lifestyle simulator and a space base-building RTS like StarCraft, Space Colony gets its power from glorious ingenuity. Not everything works in this trailblazing title, but there's plenty to love.

In elk geval zeker de moeite waard voor wie niet per se op zoek is naar hyperrealistische spacetoestanden of een 'die hard' kolonisatiespel, maar gewoon eens wat anders wil en met de glimlach een originele spelervaring wil beleven. Een geslaagde kruising tussen ruimtekolonisatie en people management. Humor en prima gameplay, maar wel erg sober gepresenteerd!

I've always loved the thought of traveling to a different planet. I had never considered that if that was ever to take place, I would have to travel to only dark and inhospitable planets with a bunch of malcontent lazyasses. Space Colony from Firefly, the makers of Stronghold, throws that proposition at potential gamers. There are some quirky and fun gaming moments to be had along with fairly good strategic decision making opportunities. But unfortunately, interface annoyances, lackluster graphics, and characters that should have been fun to interact with mix in to create a game that was almost great, but will remain average in my mind instead.

Space Colony souffre de quelques lacunes et du manque d'un environnement graphique convaincant. Qu'importe, il est suffisamment riche en possibilités pour faire oublier ces défauts et pour permettre de passer un paquet d'heures à explorer l'univers des possibilités offertes.

Space Colony est au final un très bon titre de gestion. L'environnement délirant des planètes visitées et toutes ses bonnes idées en font un bon jeu qui devrait satisfaire le plus grand nombre d'entre vous. Sur ce, j'y retourne ! C'est que j'ai une base spatiale à faire tourner, moi...

Although Space Colony doesn’t push the envelope when it comes to gaming, it’s a pleasant enough diversion for a while. Whether most gamers will be up to playing such an old school game is going to depend entirely on their tastes. On the other hand, it’s not particularly violent nor complicated and younger gamers could play it too.

Space Colony is promoted as a sort of "Sims in Space" sort of game. The game does contain the fun aspects of watching little virtual personalities meet and interact on the computer screen. However, the fact that you are also trying to accomplish some specific goals for survival and advancement tends to make the characters' little idiosyncrasies far more annoying than cute.

However, if you think nothing of setting the clock on your VCR with your left hand while reprogramming your universal remote with your right, you should probably book the next rocket to this Space Colony. But first, give my friend a call and help him with his printer-fax-copier-scanner, would you?

Between its campaign, single-mission galaxy mode, sandbox mode, and map editor, Space Colony offers enough single-player content to keep anybody busy. And it offers colorful 2D graphics and lots of different characters with completely different voice samples, though these characters don't have much in the way of detailed touches, distinctive animations, or memorable things to say. Space Colony does attempt to introduce innovation to management games with a personal relationship system, similar to the one found in The Sims, but it's not as complex or engaging. Despite all its content, Space Colony doesn't seem to offer enough interesting and/or satisfying options to keep you playing and enjoying the game for long.

Space Colony gets off on a good foot, but falls into the same trap as many other games of its ilk, becoming repetitive and offering little in the way of rewards over time. Once a player has exhausted all of the mission possibilities, there isn't even a multiplayer mode to turn to. Firefly has offered a level editor with the game, allowing players to compile their own campaigns or swap them over the net, but I can't see this breathing much life into a title that exhausts its appeal so quickly. Nevertheless, it's undoubtedly one for the management fetishists.