Bridge Constructor Playground Review by: zanderlex - 8/10
If You Build It, It Will FallBridge Constructer Playground is a fun little game on Steam that you can use to pass away the time. I was looking for a game that was small enough to test out quickly and this is one of the ones that I chose and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I am someone who loves games such as this one, anything that has to do with building and designs and I pretty much automatically love it. This game is exactly what it sounds like, you're given a few islands where for some reason none of the streets are connected to each other and it is your job to use the materials you have to build a safe bridge across to get cars and trucks from one place to another.
The game isn't as build awesome as some other games such as Kerbal Space Program but it really does have a lot to offer. The game gives you wooden planks, Steel roads, concrete slabs, and suspension cables to work with and depending on how big the gap is, you can really design your bridge any way you want to as long as it doesn't collapse while there's a car or truck driving over it. I went through the tutorial, which was actually quite difficult and took a while and I figured that I liked the game, it turned out to be worth getting, and is fun for when you feel like building something, or making something that will fail on purpose, which can be just as much fun.
GRAPHICS 8/10
I would say that the graphics are all right. I wouldn't say that they are the best, but it's simple and it makes the game fun. First off you have the main road and bridge which is pretty bland with just white and grey, and the stuff that you build the bridge with varies in color and texture. Next up you have the background which is usually quite nice. Each map comes with a different background of some countryside like scenery whether it's hills and mountains, the sky, the ocean, or a small city behind you and for the most part it all has color and some detail.
Sometimes you might see a boat or a bird go across the screen which would add even more to what the graphics have to offer. When you look at something that's small like a random tree, it won't really look too good but when you look at everything at once you see something that really makes the game stand out. The background and all the scenery are not important at all, you only need to look at the road and bridge so all this extra stuff aside for what you need is a huge plus. Having actual animations is a good side effect also, like having the water move and the trees swaying in addition to the birds and boats that I mentioned before. Add that all together and you end up with something that's really cool to look at and that can be enjoyed and for that my grade for graphics will be an 8 out of 10.
SOUND 8/10
The game is full of noises, whether it's part of the soundtrack or one of the in game noises, there's always going to be some sound around you. When you first turn on the game you hear a quite unique song that begins playing with a mixture of music as well as construction sounds and city sounds which is cool since it kind of takes into account what the game is about and the song itself is really catchy as well. There's also another two songs that begin playing after you start each level and play as you construct your bridge. I wouldn't say that these songs are as catchy or as energetic as the one in the main menu but they both fit in with the game quite nicely.
Aside for the assortment of music, you also have the regular sounds of the game. Whenever you place down material you hear a little click and whenever you place something where it can't be clicked you get a metallic sound. You will hear various sounds from the different material pieces as they break and fall and when you test out a bridge, each vehicle you use will have it's own sound for starting up and for driving. Once you beat a level, the car and truck will also honk their horns, and you hear the sounds of getting coins at the end. There's a lot of regular sounds throughout the game but they don't really matter much and the real good stuff is the music which gives an awesome feel to the game. My grade for sound is going to be another 8 out of 10.
ADDICTIVENESS 9/10
The game has the potential to be very addicting, especially if you are the kind of person who really likes these kinds of games. I love these kinds of games so I'm already really addicted but i'm pretty sure that somebody who doesn't have too much experience with such a game could play it for a bit and then find out that they really like it. It isn't just a building game, it's also a strategy game and maybe even a puzzle game because you really need to think about what you need to do and you need to have some sort of a plan and that's what makes it a fun game, it's one of those games that actually makes you think AND have a fun time at the same time. I don't think the game has too many levels so you might end up beating it pretty quickly if you really wanted to but this is the kind of game where you might want to do each level over and over again and experiment with different designs. I know that's exactly hat I did, I beat a level on the first try but I played it another half a dozen times just so I could try to get the best score I could and to test out a few wacky bridges and I had a blast doing it. I'm pretty sure that others will have a blast when they mess around with it and that they will easily be hooked by the game and for that my grade for addictiveness is going to be a 9 out of 10.
STORY 5/10
You don't really have too much of a story aside for a few bits and pieces here and there. The main idea of the game is that the person who actually builds all of the bridges gets sick and you are then put in charge of all of the construction. From there, the game is all about building the bridges with different things and earning badges for how well you build a bridge. Once you finish all of the levels on an island, you need to ake sure you have enough badges to unlock the next island and if you do you get to move on and that's really all there is to it. Small signs of a story but nothing much so my grade for this aspect is going to be a 5 out of 10.
DEPTH 6/10
I wouldn't exactly say that the game has too much depth because of the amount of levels that it has to offer but it does have some. I haven't unlocked all the islands so I'm not too sure how many levels all of them have but the first two islands each have 8 levels meaning that the entire game should have 32 levels in total. That isn't a lot, especially considering that each of the levels are quite small. In fact, if you can get each of the levels done on the first try you could probably finish each level in under two minutes. If you want to get every single badge in addition to just completing the level then there's a bit more because each evel comes with 5 badges, and in order to get al of the badges you are going to need to try out your bridge at least a couple of times. In total there's more than 150 badges to get meaning that you might have to do at least a couple hundred bridges in order to unlock everything which is pretty good. All in all the game does have stuff to offer but just not a lot and my grade for depth is going to be a 6 out of 10.
DIFFICULTY 8/10
The game can actually be very difficult, especially once you beat the tutorial level because it's essentially a trial and error game which means that you won't know how a bridge is going to work until you build it and it will either work or fail dramatically. There's no real way of showing how good your bridge is as you're building it and you're going to have to come up with dozens of designs for each bridge on the spot and pretty much rely on luck to get through each level. Unless you already are awesome at these kinds of games and no exactly how many supports, suspensions, directions of the suspensions, and more before you start a level, then it's going to be difficult to get it just right and I doubt anybody will know that stuff. Overall, there's no easy way to win this game, you just need to win this game, you just need to keep playing it over and over until you get it right and for that my grade for difficulty is going to be an 8.
OVERALL 8/10
Overall this is a fun and entertaining little game that you could probably get a good couple of hours out of before you decide to play something else. It's fairly cheap and is worth it if you like these kinds of games and want to get a few hours or more out of it. If you try to complete every little thing, you can easily pull together many hours out of this game. If you are a fan of such games then I really suggest that you give it a try because I see little reason for you to be disappointed by the game. It was good and my overall grade is going to be an 8 out of 10.
Graphics
8 Sound
8 Addictive
9 Depth
6 Story
5 Difficulty
8
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