Bridge Constructor – Review



Title   Bridge Constructor
Developer  ClockStone
Publisher  Headup Games
Platform  PC
Genre  Simulator
Release Date  1st December, 2011

Bridge Constructor. It’s a game about building bridges. It’s ok.

Thanks for reading.

Bridge constructor is (you guessed it) a bridge building sim from Headup Games, and it is one in (what I was surprised to find) a strangely long list of bridge building titles. During your ‘adventures’ in Bridge Constructor you will travel across a variety of districts, building your grand monuments to man’s ingenuity. As a sad, lonely gamer I have to admit to having played a few games in this genre and to my mind, this is one of the best.

The aim of the game, as you might imagine, is building bridges spanning a number of rivers and canyons across a variety of environments. There is a limited budget and you will have equally limited access to the four materials there are to play with.  Yes, only four. Using wood, steel, concrete and cable you have to create bridges that not only stand, but can support the weight of traffic as it travels across the expanse. If you’re feeling particularly confident (and even cocky) about your structure, then you can run some heavy traffic across it in the form of a couple of trucks for bonus points at the end. Another feature that makes Bridge Constructor unique (in its particular genre, anyway) is the ability to share your bridge and score with the world via Facebook. You know… because you’ll want to do that all the time.  Your friends will thank you.

As something of a casual game there isn’t much of a story to mention, naturally. Although I did imagine that I was one Samuel P. Bridge on a mission to fix the infrastructure of a war torn land at one point, just to spice things up. If I was going to suggest ways to improve the game, then one would be to possibly have a countdown timer, and as you build the bridge out in the distance you see a wave of enemy bombers coming to blow up your convoy; only you can save the convoy by building the bridge and getting those people to safety.  Tension isn’t just about steel cables, y’know.

Where Bridge Constructor seems to differ from similar games in its genre is the level of quality in the visuals. Yes, I know, I’ve played it… it’s not Battlefield 3, but compared to other bridge building games that tend to go down the simulation route, it actually looks good. Detailed environments that, while simplistic, have great water effects and even cloud in  the mountain levels, make it pleasing to the eye. Textures are high quality on the bridge materials, environment and even the cars that are used to test out your constructions. Where the game falls down is that unfortunately there are only around four environments: urban, desert, beach and mountain. While only having four environments isn’t a huge deal for a casual game, you do start to wonder why you bother moving region at all when everywhere looks the same.

In terms of sound, there isn’t much of it to mention. There’s only the incredibly annoying, repetitive music that I switched off after about five minutes of play – you can do this from the main menu, thank God. I guess you could see the ability to mute the annoying music from the start as a positive… right? Right? Other than that, vehicles will honk their horn at you as they travel across your bridge successfully and the explosions of your mighty erections as they fail under the loads also sounds pretty good. Those are honestly the only sounds I think I heard: explosions, honks and crap music – that and the grinding of my teeth as I failed repeatedly.

Pros
  • Easy to pick up and play
  • Might be fun if your interested in engineering.
  • Fun time sink
  • Looks good
Cons
  • The music
  • The price
  • The price
  • The price
Summary

For what it is, Bridge Constructor is probably one of the better looking bridge construction games on the market (and that's saying something). Still, it is a title that looks like it's aimed at small children or the incredibly casual gamer. You won't be asked to tax your brain on moral questions, or find yourself dragged in by deep engaging storylines. You will, however, be asked to build some bridges. Although, that said, while some of those bridges may be a challenge, you will probably complete the game in a couple of short hours.

At its core, Bridge Constructor is fun little casual game that, while simple, does present some interesting challenges. It may be that I'm just thick but I did struggle (honestly) on a few of the levels, trying to figure out where load would hit and attempting to counteract this. I hate to admit it, but I had fun with this little game. The only issue I have with it is the price (and the music) - I believe that it is currently £14.95 on GamersGate. As fun as it is, for the short time you'll likely be playing, I wouldn't pick it up for that price and, as such, I can't recommend that you do either.


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4 Comments

  1. Edward Edward says:

    I feel that I can say with full confidence that this is the best review I, or anyone else will read about a game about bridges :D

  2. Chris Chris says:

    Fantastic review. Detailed, informative and raises some good points.

  3. Lorna Lorna says:

    Like a Bridge Over Troubled Waters, this review Spans all the points I’d expect to see, with the exception of possible Expansions, mustering just enough Tension to ensure that… okay, that’s me out of bridge based stuff. Sorry. Mental game, but way pricier than I would have expected something like that to be.

  4. Kat says:

    The next time someone asks me to recommend a game about bridge building while listening to bad music then I’ll now have an answer for them. Good work Zero.

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