Utopia can be described as a "forgotten classic."


The game, as I later discovered, was actually a port from the MS-DOS game of the same name. In comparison I feel the SuperNES version is superior, with a more diverse color palette and additional music.

*** GAME PREMISES ***

The earth has begun colonization of distant planets, and you are enlisted as an officer to manage a system of ten planets, each with unique terrain and features. However, alien military forces have also begun to exercise operations in the area, and they aren't about to give it up without a fight!

*** GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS ***

The gameplay of Utopia heavily revolves around building cities, however unlike similar city-building games like SimCity, the experience isn't all about plopping down buildings and collecting taxes.

Utopia offers a wide variety of domestic aspects that you must manage including crime, pollution, trade, technological advancement, population control, resources, intelligence and of course, war... it becomes apparent that the question of whether or not we are alone in the galaxy can be answered with a reverberating NO!

*** GAMEPLAY ***

The game begins with its opening screen followed by a menu of the ten scenarios you can choose to play. There is also a practice mode for players who are new to the game or want to experiment. The practice mode is a welcome addition to the game as it grants you a more generous amount of starting cash than the normal scenarios, as well as removing the threat of alien attack. This allows new players to get a feel for the game before being thrown into their first assignment.

Normal scenarios begin at small, established colony with 100 settlers, however you will soon outgrow this humble outpost. One interesting aspect of the game is how your workforce must be evenly distributed among the various facilities in your colony. For example, with only a certain number of colonists available, you cannot simply build until you run out of money... each construction project requires 20 colonists. These 20 colonists are in fact pulled off of other jobs such as farming and material production. Thus, it follows that if you spread your workforce too thin on construction projects, your population will not product enough resources to sustain itself.

Don't worry just yet however, for you are not hopelessly alone. The Earth Federation realizes that you have been presented with such a daunting task and will preiodically offer to send help... for a price. Of course, you can also consult your advisors, who keep tabs on happenings in your colony and alert you of troubles.

Another important aspect of the game is economy, after all, people simply won't work for free. Earth provides you with some initial funds, but it won't last terribly long. In order to fund future endeavors, you must mine resources to process into finished goods. These goods can be traded with other colonies for money. You can also trade raw materials, but selling finished products is much more lucrative.

One innovative feature of the game is a running calendar that actually keeps track of days. One day in game time is two seconds in real time, making each month last about a minute. A month is a typical "faction time," where certain repeatable elements reset themselves allowing you to repeat functions (but not before). For example, you can only conduct trade once per month. Also, buildings require different lengths of time to build, ranging from a week to four months. This adds a welcome addition of realism.

The buildings themselves are highly-detailed (for their time) and the ideas are more or less what you might expect from a science fiction theme. Solar panels, hydroponics, and oxygen-generating plants, to name a few, as well as living quarters are fundamental to sustaining your colony. Mines, storage facilities, and factories are for economy, and there are a number of military structures as well. Hospitals protect your citizens from disease, while stadiums provide entertainment.

Probably the most important factor of the gameplay is morale, which is represented by the QOL (quality of life) rating. This rating starts at 50% but will rise or fall depending on your actions. The lower this rating falls, the more you run the risk of crime, and eventually, possible assassination. The goal of a scenario is to achieve a QOL rating of 100%... a true Utopia.

Once you establish a solid economy base, you can grant money to your spies and scientists. Spies will investigate the alien city and report their findings back to you. This is very important, because they will warn you when an attack is imminent. Scientific research takes place in adequately-staffed labs, which lead to many advancements in technology from new buildings, improved weaponry, pollution control, vaccinations, and other cool stuff, all which benefit the QOL rating.

If this all sounds too good to be true then brace yourself, because a race of hostile aliens have been colonizing a remote area of the same planet, and are about to come steamrolling your way! Aside from balancing your efforts amongst domestic issues, you must heavily defend your creation from attacks. Tanks, spaceships, missiles, and laser guns are just some of the ways you can ensure safety. As you invest in scientific research, you will devlop more advanced forms of weaponry. With a large enough army, you may even be able to launch a strike of your own.

*** GRAPHICS ***

The graphics of the game were outstanding for its time, and are even impressive by today's standard, if you consider a "pseudo-3D" angled view. The buildings are bright and colorful, and the terrain features boast incredible detail.

*** SOUND ***

The game features five background musical scores (which is one more than the PC/DOS version). I have found that people will either love them or hate them, but I personally enjoy hearing them so much that I recorded them onto my computer to listen at other times. Of course, like any looping music, it can become irritating after a while, but there is an option to turn the music off.

The sound effects are but a few explosions and beeps, however they do hold up to the quality of the game.

*** CONTROL ***

As complex as the game seems, the controls are actually easy to get used to. First, the game's "north" is oriented 45° to the right, meaning that pressing "up" on the control pad actually moves the cursor up and to the right. This is actually very easy to get used to, and many other similar games of this era used the same orientation. For working in menus, the cursor becomes a pointing finger and the direction is true to the control pad.

The real fun comes when you plug in a SuperNES mouse! The games runs flawlessly with the mouse, with the left button acting as the execute button while the right button cancels.

*** CONCLUSION ***

I remember getting the game for my birthday when I was about 10 years old. To this day I still cannot understand why this game never made the hit charts, nor spawned any spinoffs. I do hope that people still find interest in this game, as it is a worthy addition to any city-building game collection.

Recommended: Yes