If you ever wanted to experience what it requires to settle a colony on a new planet, now is your chance in this spectacular Indie Gem.
Some key points that this game offers:
- City Builder, build your own empire in Space…
- Survival Elements, the wrong choices can result in the death of your colonists.
- Resource Management.
- Indie Gem 4/5.
Gameplay & Controls:
The controls for the game are fairly simple, as always, we use our trusty mouse and keyboard, the mouse mainly being used to move the screen and to select our buildings and other items. The keyboard has a wide variety of shortcuts that can be used to make the gameplay easier and more enjoyable.
The gameplay is a mixture of survival, city building and strong resource management aspects. Once you have chosen your planet to colonize, your ship lands on it with a handful of survivors and two bots. You are given basic resources to help you build a few basic structures, but that is it.
You are then on your own to manage these survivors and resources as best you can to set up a basic base and then from there you expand little by little. The game has everything you need to build a self-sufficient colony, you can mine for the ore to manufacture the metal you need to upgrade and expand your base. Crops can be grown in your Bio-Dome, from there they are moved to the storage unit if you built one. From there they will be moved to the appropriate room to be used such as the meal maker in the canteen or the lab where medicine is made.
The game offers so much more, take control of your colonies security by building a control centre; from there you can arm guards with weapons to fend off intruders. They can monitor for storms and other dangers via the Telescope or shoot down incoming meteors with the Anti-Meteor Laser.
And still that is not all, Planetbase is a marvelous little game that is a must experience for any fan in this genre.
Graphics:
Absolutely beautiful; as far as base building games go this one has been stunningly drawn and beautifully presented.
Everything looks amazing, the character models, the buildings, the structures inside each building. They all are a splendour to behold, one can easily just scroll back the view, take your base’s tops down and behold the marvel that is your colony.
The animations were done just as well, from your wind turbine’s blades turn speeds that turn depending on the strength of the wind, to the weather patterns. It adds a nice and realistic perspective to what you’re doing.
There are several settings to customize your game, but it really runs smooth and plays beautifully.
Sounds:
Very realistically implemented. Every sound that the game generates puts you right there on that planet as you work tirelessly to keep your colonists alive.
You can literally just sit back and enjoy the music that is generated by your colonists as they go about their tasks, such as making metal from ore, or producing spares in the workshop. The weather conditions outside such as high winds or crashing meteors make it all sound so real and lifelike.
Every action has an accompanying sound and it is amazing, when matters seem dire… like when you hear that approaching ship landing… it sets you at ease because there is still hope to save your colony.
With all of this there is some very soothing background music that melts together beautifully with the game itself and it enhances the overall quality immensely.
Replayability:
The game has a lot of replay value, for starters it will take a while for you to master the aspects required to start and properly establish a self-sufficient colony.
There are discussions regarding future add-ons to the game such as challenges and extra game worlds to play on. So, plenty to do and more to come.
MGR Gaming’s Conclusions:
Spoilers Ahead:
When it comes down to the numbers Planetbase is an amazing game with immense potential. As it is it runs and plays beautifully. It is tons of fun and will keep you busy for days to come.
I’ve played it when it was first released and played it some more as it was updated and added to. So, I can say with confidence that the developers have kept their promises when it comes to furthering and bettering their game. Planetbase has a bright future.
If you are a space building or survival builder fan this is one game that you will absolutely love to bits.
By: MGRza
Date: 24 October 2005
Additional Info:
Platforms: PC: Mac: PlayStation 4: Xbox One
Genre: Base Building: Resource Management: Colony Sim: City Builder: Space
Censor Rating: n/a
Age Rating: n/a
Developer: Madruga Works
Publisher: Madruga Works
Release Date: 16 October 2005
MGR Gaming Steam Curator:
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32364038/
