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Bridge Construction Set
by Jolex Del Pilar

Sunday, September 7 2003

A charming and addictive game that is educational and entertaining.

Title: Bridge Construction Set

Platform: Pentium II 500, 64MB Ram, 3D card, 100 MB free hard drive space,

Publisher: Garage Games

Developer: Chronic Logic

# of Players: 1 - 4

Genre: Simulation

Origin: United States

Expected Release: August 30, 2003

Grapevine: Bridge Construction Set features one of the most complex physics engines on the market right now.

Independently developed games have a sort of reputation within the industry. They're usually small budget games that may be genuinely entertaining, but are still usually left to obscurity as they struggle to find shelf space next to games published by bigger companies like Electronic Arts, or Activision.

However, the thing I like about Indie games is the fact that, since they are unknown, when I do get to play a good one, it's usually a pleasant surprise. Bridge Construction Set is a game that represents that pleasant surprise.

At its heart, it's a simple, but ultimately successful formula. Through 40 levels, scores of different terrains, map packs, and even a map editor, Bridge Construction Set puzzles your brain in an entertaining way similar to the way Tetris does for most gamers. Your goal in each level is to build a bridge that will be able to span the distance between two land masses. Each challenge is different, and involves varying conditions such as wind, type of vehicle which will be crossing (or going underneath) the bridge, and of course terrain (mountainous regions, desert, wide rivers, etc).

There are different types of bridges to be built including steel and trestle, and of course suspension type bridges. As the levels progress in difficulty from easy to complex, you will be forced to think out your designs carefully and apply your knowledge of physics if you hope to succeed. Haven't taken a physics course before? The game will be tough without that knowledge, although not impossible. A basic knowledge is always better than none. Knowing where weight will be distributed, and where supports will best be applied, all at the mercy of a preset budget presents an intriguing, if not brain twisting puzzle for most gamers to solve, and we for one, like it.

Graphically, Bridge Construction Set is fairly average. However, just like the sound in this game, special leniency can be given in our ratings system due to the fact that, this isn't the type of game that would necessarily benefit from having state of the art 3D visuals or flowing orchestrated music in the background. In fact, anything that disturbs your concentration from solving these complex puzzles might, in fact, be a bad thing.

	Gameplay: [9.5] Easily addictive and entertaining. This game is a keeper, especially for those who have had physics courses before.
	Graphics: [8.0] Not all that enticing from a visual perspective, but it doesn't need to be.
	Sound: [8.0] A few train whistles and car engines. The best sound happens to be the collapsing clang of steel and iron from a bad bridge design.
	Presentation: [6.5] Bridge Construction Set looks like an Indie game. There's not much more we can say besides that.
	Replay Value: [9.0] A map editor helps to increase the life of this game exponentially.
	Global Score: [8.6] Bridge Construction Set proves that Indie games can not only be cheap, but quite fun and entertaining. Pick up a copy for hours of brain teasing fun.

Click here for an explaination of our "hit and miss"rating system.

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