Wesson International, who both published and developed the simulation game Moonbase, did an excellent job of capitalizing on the simulation and micromanagement craze that seemed to be started by SimCity. In truth, this release for play on the personal computer is a version of SimCity that takes place on Earth’s Moon. It was released in the early nineties and takes place in the not so distant future. This management style game plays from the very user friendly bird’s eye perspective, a concept that also seemed to be mainstreamed by SimCity.
The main goal of Moonbase is to build a colony from absolute scratch on Earth’s Moon and make it self sufficient. In the beginning of the game, all of the funding for the colony comes from NASA and the planet Earth. The gamer will begin with a broad expanse of lunar nothing…just a landscape rich in resources and minerals but absent of all life and human contact. The gamer will have to build and manage a base, beginning by choosing from several modules of habitation. Aside from merely building homes for the future colonists, the user will also have to put in play his or her micromanagement skills. The player is responsible for heat sources, food, power, and of course, a supply of oxygen.
As
is true of SimCity, all of the player’s choices have consequences, both positive and negative, making decision making an enormous part of playing this game successfully. This is also a very SimCity concept, but Moonbase seems to make the decisions more dire. For example, in SimCity, the coal plant is very cheaply built, making it a great economical decision. However, it also causes pollution, which will anger the city’s citizens, sometimes cause the approval rating to drop and residents to leave town, and will eventually have to be rectified or the population will plummet. On Moonbase, there is really nowhere for the masses to flee to except to their graves. If an oxygen system malfunctions, what do you think is going to happen to the poor colonists? The player is going to have to keep track of a lot of things to make sure that his colonists do not become endangered and see to it that his Moonbase can continue to support a larger and larger population.
Overall, many gamers will see Moonbase as a fairly familiar game, due to its heavy draw on SimCity. Still, the setting and the different selections of constructible units make this a unique play that is still all its own. It is a great choice in simulation entertainment.
