Anyone who is as old as I am will remember the game Constructor that was released back in 1997. A game that was set in the grungy construction world, filled with mobsters and corrupt tenants. This was one of my go-to games during my younger days. Though not that popular since it got released in the golden days of Command and Conquer and Starcraft. As well, the setting that you’re going to be playing in, might not really be your kind of schtick. It got a remaster a few years back, but that wasn’t a big success as it was riddled with small issues and bugs and well, kind of lost its magic. So it came as an actual surprise when I heard that Constructor Plus was getting released. Though the kid inside of me went crazy! Was my enthusiasm warranted? Or should I have learned from the remastered version? Let’s find out in this review of Constructor Plus!
What do you do? You rule over your own construction company. It’s up to you to become the dominant one and rule over your city. Take over or destroy other companies and build up a lucrative business. Keeping your tenants happy will be one of your biggest concerns as your workforce happily does what it’s told to do.
- A lot of content: Let it be known if you’re going to be playing Constructor Plus? Be prepared to play through a lot of missions. With over 40 different missions, you’re not through it all yet. There is a multiplayer mode for you to tackle, classic missions where you can create your own win condition. There is so much? It actually kind of becomes overwhelming, but then in a good way! For the price that you’ll be getting this? It’s an amazing bundle of gameplay and entertainment.
- Visually appealing: I’ve got to say, for a game that got released in 1997? The visual updates make the game look like a game that got released just a few years ago. It still shows that it had very old base files, but it aged in a good way! It keeps that nostalgic value that made it great back in the day, as well as get an entirely new coat of paint to look modern. It succeeds!
- Quite Buggy: Sadly enough, just like the Remastered edition, Constructor Plus has its own set of issues to struggle through. One of the most breaking bugs that I had gotten, was when I was playing the tutorial but was one step ahead. It soft locked me in that state because I needed to do it, but I had already done so. And so I had to redo the entire thing… There should be a skip current step, or it should auto-detect what has already happened. Another minor thing that I saw was my foreman just running circles when I had ordered him to go into a factory. And okay, I know that if a hippie is holding a party? That is normal behavior, but this was at the start of a fresh game. I had to move him away from the factory and send him inside again. And then it worked!
- Soundtrack: Sadly enough, while the graphics got an overhaul? The soundtrack didn’t get an update. Sure it got a quality update, but maybe a few extra more modern tracks wouldn’t have been too bad. Though not a breaking point, it left me wanting and actually kind of disappointed in the end. These kinds of tiny details would really have upped the recommendation factor for me by a tenfold!
- Small font: I don’t know if it was on my end alone, but at times the font was just unreadably small. The buttons as to which one you have to press are totally unreadable and even so small that you won’t even notice them most of the time! It was when I saw something yellow on one of the icons that I realized I was gazing at the outline of the Y button. I mean… I am playing a game on a tv screen, I shouldn’t be needing a magnifying glass!
- The building game: This is, at heart, still an RTS. Yet it is implemented terribly. Sure you’ve got hotkeys for certain buttons that you can control by using the unreadable button prompts. But for instance, placing a building is a true tedious hassle. I am a bit OCD when it comes down to my building locations. I love to have symmetry! But placing down building plots is SUCH a hassle since these things are skittish as heck. That I just end up creating Frankenstein plots. Then selecting units is another one of these RTS mechanics that is extremely tedious in Constructor Plus. You’ve got to click on them with the POINT OF THE POINTER. Not only is this like pinning the tail on the donkey, if your worker is extremely close to, for instance, your foreman? You’ll be clicking on the worker most of the time since it’s unit box is bigger than the foreman ‘s one! Or you’ve got to zoom in unnaturally close… But come on… Consoles aren’t meant for RTS games, even if they’re getting keyboard support. When will they ever learn… unless it’s a slow RTS, then I could understand. But Constructor Plus has so many things going on that it can become very hectic, very quickly!
CONCLUSION
Score: 60%
While Constructor Plus isn’t a bad game in any shape or form, and it does its best to be a modern game? It feels as if it got released a bit too late. While the pure nostalgia is still there, and a fan from way back then will enjoy a session or 2, I still couldn’t fully get to grasps with this one. Partially because I have never come to the agreement that RTS games if they are expansive as this one, should be enjoyed in a console environment. For instance games like Halo Wars? I did enjoy! Because it was simplified and didn’t demand all too much micromanagement and all too many buildings to be built.
Developer: System 3 Software Publisher: System 3 Software
Played on: Xbox One X Also available on: PS4 – Switch and PC
Alexis spent 3 hours trying to get a decent company up and running…
Achievement difficulty for 1000 Gamerscore: 20+ hours.
Perfect for: Anyone who enjoyed the original classic.
Xbox Game Store link: Click here