"And down it goes"

Bridge building games doesn't look like something that would be that fun at first though. Stick up some pieces without breaking your budget, make sure it doesn't fall apart while a car crosses, and then continue to the next level. Despite this, there are games in the genre that are truly fun, this being one of them. Let me describe why this should be on your wishlist.

Story
Some crazed maniac has managed to destroy a number of bridges over the region, and now that they need new ones, they grabbed the first person off the street to create them. Despite your lack of experience and skill, you are forced to ensure that companies can still get their goods transported where ever they need to be without letting the drivers lose their lives.

Or maybe this has no story at all. Its a bridge building game, we don't need a story. But if you do, just pretend it is the one written above.

Presentation
The visuals are pretty basic, but you know exactly what you are looking at, and it has several camera options, including viewing from the vehicles themselves as they plunge over a cliff. Materials will be recognized, and will change colour to show how stressed they are with a toggle option. Sound is also suitable, with metal groaning as it threatens to ruin your hard work, and noises from the vehicles. Not any music in this game though. Not really a problem though.

Controls
Nice and simple, pretty much everything can be done with just the mouse. Left click will take you through the menu and place pieces of the bridge. Right click is used to remove pieces. Holding the shift key will allow you to select multiple pieces of your bridge so you can copy and paste larger chucks if you want the other side to mirror your current idea. Arrow keys and the mouse wheel can be used to adjust the camera. nothing here to cause any confusion or difficulty.

Gameplay
Working within the limitations set by your budget and available materials, you will be attempting to build a bridge to cross over various rivers and canyons. These will start simple, with only small areas to build across and only basic materials to make it easy to guess the best choices. As you get further in the game, the bridge will need to be much longer and you will need to mix it up with stronger pieces, cables and even hydraulics so your bridge can lift out of the way of passing boats. Later levels are incredibly difficult as it will seem that you just don't have what you need to prevent the latest travelers from taking a swim, but each of the bridges in the game can be finished. With all the available choices for building your bridge, I much prefer this game over similar titles I've played, none of them matching this for variety.

Lifespan
The game should last a while. With a tutorial with 3 levels, Easy difficulty with 6 levels, and then Medium, Hard, Complex and Extra each having 8 levels, you have a total of 41 gaps to cross. While there is no sandbox mode as such, there are a couple of cheats available to increase your budget and unlock all materials for that level. As well as all of the included levels, the game includes a menu option to load other levels within the game, though I'm not sure where you may be able to find these additional locations.

If you have any interest in trying a bridge construction simulator, this is the game to go for. The most options for building your bridges as well as the ability to load custom levels makes this title the best choice.

8 / 10