''Moon Tycoon'' is a
city-building computer game released in 2001 by
Anarchy Enterprises
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopte ...
and
Unique Entertainment.
It is based on the creation of a
lunar colony
Colonization of the Moon or Lunar settlement is a process, or concept employed by some proposals, for claiming robotic or human exploitation and settlement on the Moon.
Laying claim to the Moon has been declared illegal through international ...
, or rather a lunar city. Anarchy Enterprises described it as the "first 3-D Sim game ever", and noted that it has similarities to
SimCity
''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, ''SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Sim ...
(which at the time was 2-dimensional).
Gameplay
''Moon Tycoon'' has three campaigns to play through, each with its own story-line and placed around the year 2021.
Campaign 1: Earth is in a global
energy crisis
An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...
, and the only thing that can stop it is a precious resource called
helium-3 that can be found on the Moon in vast quantities.
Campaign 2: The energy crisis is over, but competition begins to heat up as corporations battle for lunar domination as space borne epidemics, discontent over living conditions and space disasters become more frequent.
Campaign 3: Mankind makes yet another leap as it begins the next stage of space exploration:
the colonization of the asteroid belt.
Each campaign has ten levels to play through each with varied levels of difficulty. All three campaigns make up a larger story, so they can only be played in order and starting with the first. There is also a
sandbox mode
A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player may take on (or even encounter) only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played ...
available, where the player can set the starting money, terrain type, ore quantity and average building life; it also lets the player select whether they want to play on the Moon or on an asteroid.
The game is played on the Play Area, on which both completed and under-construction structures are displayed. Players also use this screen to begin construction of buildings and alter the terrain. The play area is raised up from the surrounding view and can also have a grid.
The building menu display the various types of structures available for construction. These buildings are divided into different categories: Housing and Medical, Tourism, Research, Rewards (earned by different objectives), Utilities, and Industry.
Reception
Moon Tycoon was compared to SimCity, but praised for its innovative 3D graphics.
[ Although Moon Tycoon was well received by US based game review website, GameZone,]
''Deep Sea Tycoon''
The spiritual sequel, ''Deep Sea Tycoon'', often confused with ''Atlantis Underwater Tycoon
''Atlantis Underwater Tycoon'' is an underwater city-building simulation game in which the player acts as a tycoon to simulate the real-time design and management of an underwater civilization. It was developed by American studio Anarchy Enter ...
'' and titled ''Aquatic Tycoon'' in France, is a 2003 video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by Anarchy Enterprises and published
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...
by Unique Entertainment.
Gameplay
The gameplay of ''Deep Sea Tycoon'' involves choosing one of 24 different characters and creating an underwater city filled with different buildings and features, from Mermaid Palaces to Seafood Restaurants. Through the character they choose and the choices they make in their city, the player can become a ruthless business magnate or an environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
.
The gameplay is similar to ''Moon Tycoon''. The player creates buildings on a flat piece of land, that must be connected to other buildings by tunnels. The only major differences are the scenario and the types of buildings each game uses.
Reception
[{{cite web, title=Test de Aquatic Tycoon, url=http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/jeux/aquatic-tycoon/preview-test-aquatic-tycoon.html, website=jeuxvideopc.com, access-date=1 October 2017]
''Deep Sea Tycoon 2'' has been reviewed by X-Play, being given a 1 out of 5. Being noted for being boring by having "ridiculously easy challenges" and simple challenges of only having to "click my mouse button twice". As a final note in their review, Adam Sessler noted that ''Game Tycoon'' was more entertaining than ''Deep Sea Tycoon 2''.
References
External links
Official ''Moon Tycoon'' website
* Legacy Interactive
2001 video games
Business simulation games
Legacy Games games
Single-player video games
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set on the Moon
Video games set underwater
Windows games
Windows-only games
Anarchy Enterprises games