Startopia is a management simulator that puts you in charge of reconstituting an old 2001-style, ring-shaped space station. The game was designed by a company founded by ex-Bullfrog employees who were in some way or another involved with Theme Park, Theme Hospital, and Dungeon Keeper. Startopia plays like a refined and expanded Dungeon Keeper, but the main difference is that it has been relocated to deep space. In Startopia you'll need to build a power system, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, park benches, restaurants, hospitals, lavitrons, and just about everything else a happy space station needs to thrive in this bustling interstellar economy. Your main goal is to slowly take over the space station. You can do this through making your sections the most attractive to alien visitors. Just classic...
Startopia features 9 different alien species, each with own dietary and environmental needs, over 40 different buildings - vast number of stores, shops, and utilities in which aliens may work and play, Biodeck, whose environment may be manipulated to breed new creatures and grow new plantlife, resource management and diplomacy, and ability to interview aliens to determine suitability for employment. The space-station has three levels for you to do your construction – the first layer is the technical deck (for things like the energy collector and the factory), the second is the pleasure deck (for your sexually frustrated aliens hehe) and the final floor, which is host to the bio-deck (here your aliens can grow plants, swim in lakes and construct Stone Henge and crap like that, however you won't believe but these itsy-bitsy beasts still believe in god).
Unlike Black & White, the tutorial missions are quick and painless. The proper missions has different objectives and like the tutorials start off relatively easy. There are total 10 missions, and for the most part they go by quickly. Main game consists out of two modes: mission and sandbox, plus the multiplayer mode up to four players via LAN and Internet. It's cool, because after you will complete the missions, you can still play the sandbox. Sandbox is a freestyle game mode working according to the principles you can predefine (for example you can decide what what will your goal be - energy, territories, research etc)
The game graphics are excellent from every point of view: models, light effects, textures...the level of detail is really amazing, definitely won't disappoint you. Also the free floating Startopia camera (very comfortable camera) allows you to pull all the way outside the station or zoom in to ground level.. Honestly but also surprisingly Startopia is a great game. I think Startopia deserves high rating, though the game could be a bit longer (30 missions would be OK). If you are a true gamer, and like this genre, then 100% buy this game. Download playable demo (85MB) and visit Startopia official homepage.