posted March 17 2007 03:16 PM                

You can play in several modes -- continuous play, which lets you set up the scenario you want, with as many or as few computer opponents; quest play, where you have to achieve some goal; as well as several multi-player options (which I haven't investigated). There's even a sandbox mode, where you have access to all the levels of tech and can just build the city as you want.

The graphics are really very good and provide some great eye-candy moments, as you can see from the screenshots here. (Though, admittedly, the one on top and down below are taken in the "postcard" mode of the game, which adds some focus trickery to make the images seem even more realistic ... this screenshot is a more realistic game-play screenshot and includes some of the game controls.) There are some really nice visual touches ... for example, in one of the easier quest games, you have to rescue a ship bound for your colony that's caught in a storm. As your ship moves through the rain, some of the raindrops drip down on your view, like they would on a camera lens or window... a cheap, but nice touch.)

There are also modes in more advanced levels of the game that include natural disasters (like volcanic explosions and the outbreak of the plague) as well as civic disasters, where you can recreate the burning of London in 1666.

About the only downside I have with this game is that once you colonize more than one island, the details start to get really hard to juggle. Of course, keeping track of all these details is the point of the game, but it can quickly overwhelm you. There may be a way to slow the speed of the game down, but I haven't figured out how to do it. In the end, you're probably only going to really, really enjoy this game if you are really, really detail oriented, otherwise, you'll probably get a little frustrated.

The game requires a fairly beefy computer to generate all the eye-candy. Ideal system requirements claim a 3ghz processor, at least a gig of memory and 128mb of video ram. There's an update available on the publisher's site, but I still run into a technical glitch occasionally, where the game will get stuck on a loading screen, and then bomb out, asking for the original game CD (even though I have the cd in the drive). It might be some weird peculiarity with my system, though.

I would think it'd be a good learning game for kids, It's rated for kids 10 and up, with a warning about tobacco and alcohol use (both of which are commodities in the game). About the only social inaccuracy is the lack of slave labor, which isn't so bad.

You can buy the game for less than $30 plus shipping from Amazon.

(Click on any of the images for a more detailed view.)