Space Bucks

IS THIS ANYWAY TO FLY A BUSINESS

A Review of Space Bucks

by Rich Cunningham

In the past few years, recycling has become very popular. In the city where

I live, it is almost mandatory, since the city provides both the service and

containers for the refuse. It’s getting to be everywhere you turn, the

subject of recycling is on everyone’s mind. Well, it must have been on the

mind of the fine folks of Sierra On-line when they released their new game,

Space Bucks.

There was a time when all Sierra On-line games were noted for originality

and ground breaking graphics and plots. I remember one of the first game I

purchased was Police Quest I (for an Atari ST, but that’s another story). It

was fun to play, and the graphics were great. Nowadays, Sierra products have

to be looked at very carefully and judged on their individual merits. When I

saw Space Bucks, I had the feeling I had seen the game somewhere before.

Sure enough, in the discount section of my local Computer City, I found a

game called Air Bucks v1.2. It is a game about starting your own airlines

and making money. It is very much like the game Space Bucks. Now, before we

accuse Sierra of plagiarism or anything, keep in mind that they now own the

rights to Air Bucks (at least I think they do, since it was being sold in a

box marked "Sierra Original"). So my first opinion, before opening the box,

was that this game has been rewritten and updated.

Space Bucks is a science fiction game. It is a game of intergalactic trading

and creating a business in outer space. You start the game with one space

ship, one route, some money and dreams of making a gadzillion bucks. There

are 3 computer opponents that you have to compete against, to build your

empire. You must bid on landing strips on other planets before your

opponents or you may never make any money. As you build your routes, you

find that the products you can carry are interrelated, and if sold in the

right markets, can be used to create new technologies and new products. You

must find the right balance between running a successful business and

keeping the local inhabitants happy. Oh, there are pirates as well, so keep

an eye out for them, also.

The high points of this game are the graphics. Sierra has really got the

best sci-fi graphics of any company I have seen. The look and feel of the

universe and the ships and aliens make the game fun to play. There is an

Outpost-feeling when you are building on a planet, but there all similarity

ends. The intents here are on making money from existing civilizations,

while Outpost you are creating a new one. But the look and feel are very

similar. The sound effects are so-so, again more distracting than helpful.

One benefit that would have made this game a lot of fun would have to

injected some Al Lowe-type humor into it. (Al is the creator of Leisure

Suit Larry). This game is fun, but let’s face it, games that involve making

money can get boring. This one is no exception. But it would have been fun

to see what a difference he could have made.

The manual is well laid out. It gives a brief tutorial on the basics of the

game, as well as in-depth instructions on the menu structure. The

installation was flawless under Windows 95, and the program ran bug- and

crash-free for several days during testing. The plot was a little thin for

my taste, but if reading the business section of the paper excites you, then

this game would be a must for you. The main weakness that I see in this

program is lack of originality. I see parts of Railroad Tycoon,

Civilization, Sim City among others, as well as the obvious connection to

Air bucks v1.2. Nothing wrong with recycling older programs, especially as

hardware improvements allow the newer versions to make improvements on game

performance. That is what happened with this game. Unfortunately, it has a

rushed feeling and fails to capitalize on the improvements there were put in

the game.

Gamer’s Zone Scorecard

PH:206.649.9800
FAX:206.641.7617
http://www.sierra.com

Product:	Space Bucks
Company:	Sierra On-line, Inc. 3380 146th Place SE Suite 300 Bellevue WA 98007

Cost:

$54.95

IBM (only): 486dx33; 2x CD ROM; Hard Drive; SVGA
640x480x256 (local bus recommended); Windows 3.1 or greater (runs under Windows 95); 8meg ram; Sound Blaster or 100% compatible; Keyboard; mouse