Constructor Plus

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Title: Constructor Plus
Developer: System 3 Software Ltd
Publisher: System 3 Software
Website: http://www.system3.com/games/constructor-plus-switch/
Genre: Strategy, Simulation
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Audience: 16+
Release Date: 28/02/2019
Price: £19.99 – Rapid Reviews UK was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

What the Developers say

In this town you’ve gotta think BIG!

Take on the role of a budding property developer and build yourself up from minor-league housing crook to interplanetary property tycoon, wheeling, dealing and thieving all the way.

Getting to number one is easy if you know how – it just might not be legal!

Use a variety of sneaky methods to do over the competition, from a selection of Undesirables to calling in the Mob when you need a more heavy-handed approach…

Huge range of over 140 buildings; from Trailers to Skyscrapers. Build bigger. Build higher!
65 pre-built towns and cities to explore
17 Worlds
15 different story modes
Customise your own game world using the town designer
Learn the ropes with 9 interactive scenarios and guided tutorial mode

Build your power base here on Earth, then reach for the stars. Constructor Plus will take you out of this world!

Introduction

Oi Oi, Savaloy! Step right up and have a butcher’s at this game right here, the lovely jubbly Constructor Plus. Created by the legendary System 3 who have been generating classic games as far back as the early 80s, we are thrust into a world where we must build, build, build and generate as much dosh by any means possible.

Looks and Sounds

Constructor Plus is set in a traditional building sim layout, with crisp, clear 2D sprites set on a map with many empty lots of land for you to build your structures.

There are 17 different maps to choose from, which range from your standard concrete City to the more outrageous landmarks such as the Amazon jungle or even Mars. The maps are nicely designed, and I love the small details added to the maps such as ghosts appearing from graves and sheep that seem to have a bad case of diarrhoea.

The game has not only 2D sprites wandering around your maps but also some very cartoon style illustrations depicting the variety of characters that litter the game, as well as hysterical 3D cut scenes for these oddballs that live in your own Utopia. It has a real mix of different art styles which make this game

Music in the game is happy and upbeat. You can’t help but feel good when listening to the little rhythms in the background of your town, and the sound is never out of place in the game. Except maybe the dogs barking on mars, I mean, who lets their dog off the lead on Mars? They could fall into a crater!

I have to admit, I’ve left the best for last, the voice acting. Wow, oh wow! If you are an Only Fools and Horses fan, you are going to be jumping out of your seat when you hear Boycie shouting back at you that one of your houses is on fire. The voice acting of John Challis is so humorous and works perfectly with this game, I have to hand it to the scriptwriters.

Gameplay and Replayability

Constructor Plus is not a simple build sim, and there is so much to it. Making sure all of your residents are happy in their little homes is a must. They will complain all the time about noise or paying too much rent if you get them a dog to keep burglaries down they then want better fencing to keep their precious pooch in the yard. But keep them happy you must to breed more workers and get lots more cash. I made the mistake of not decorating some bathrooms, and giant cockroaches were walking down the road, human size roaches, just having a stroll!

There are so many things to create and do, such as being able to distract rival companies by sending hippies to protest outside their factories and building the pawn shop so the sneaky thief can steal from your competitors, but of course, your rivals can also do the same back.

This is when you will need to use the local gangsters, and it’s so nice to have the Mob on your side, so if some undesirables are messing with your properties, you can blast them away Goodfellas style.

With so many built-in maps with different scenarios, there is so much to keep coming back for more. Haunted houses and killer clowns, there is a lot of odd goings-on to keep you entertained.

Constructor Plus plays nicely on the Switch, especially in handheld mode where. You can swiftly zoom into your map using the touch screen and tap any icons you need to instead of dragging a cursor slowly across the screen with the joystick.

Conclusion

If you are new to this style of gameplay, it can take some time to get used to everything that the game throws at you, and there are many tutorials to show you the ropes that you will need to go through to fully understand what you can accomplish.

With so many different types of game modes revolving around the building simulation, whether it is an all-out turf war on who can own the most land, to trying to build a Utopia of people that are all content or constructing every type of structure possible. This building sim has ticked all the boxes for variety.

The game can feel a little repetitive at times and being sure your tenants are happy is so frustrating at times, but the games intense humour and sarcastic look at the world around us is superb, and being able to become the villain and take over properties and steal from rival competitors in the game makes things more interesting.

Rapid Reviews UK Rating

You can purchase Constructor Plus at the Nintendo eShop at the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Constructor-Plus-1510498.html#Overview