As you begin the standard campaign you start with a crew of two who must run the power, air and mining operations of the outpost. They have little in the way of needs, being happy with a bed each and a food replicator. As you grow however their needs become greater, as does the size of your crew. Soon they will be demanding entertainment (Blackwater Industries is willing to give up precious cargo space to ship across light years of space such essentials as a disco floor and a sauna), education and a bigger outpost. With limited resources you will be challenged to achieve the right mix between essential base services and the wants of your increasingly rebellious crew. And here is the rub, each crew member has their own personality, their own favourite wants and dislikes so keeping everybody happy soon becomes a nightmare.

As you progress more crew members arrive at your space port and gone are the days of the chosen few. Your crew seems to be made up of bar sweepings and college drop outs. Some come with existing skills while others would be best pushed out of the airlock in their underwear. The game concept is about taking this diverse bunch of rejects and welding them into a top performing team. Not an easy job when everything seems to be stacked against you. While some have useful skills most have nothing better than the ability to push a mop.

You will cringe as you have to leave 'Tami la Belle' (hard drinking barfly) in charge of the critical air supply for the outpost while those with a modicum of skill are directed to mine resources. You'll love the way 'Tami' craves human interaction all the time, necessitating her leaving her post to speak with others of the crew. You will despair as oxygen levels plummet as she professes boredom and the need for a drink at the bar.

These personalities (there is 16 possible crew members) interact with each other, and build friendships, loves and enemies and all are made with maddening ease. By clicking on a character you can force them to communicate or sit them down in a lounge chair to have a heart to heart talk to improve their relationships. The airlock and underwear option becomes more attractive as the game progresses. These relationships become evermore complex and this while you are trying to run a space colony for profit!

The base building aspects of the game are challenging as well. You never seem to have enough room (hmm - the sauna or the medical center?), with very little space to expand. You are also restricted to two sizes of bio-dorm that when matched against possible contents are woefully small. The small one can barely hold two beds for instance and with limited flat areas to build it is a squash to expand to any sort of plan. You retain your base through the campaign and mistakes you make early on can spell disaster later in the campaign. As you progress you are also visited by the alien life forms. Some represent useful resources (food) while others need to be exterminated. There are various pieces of equipment available to you to do this with from simple hand held flame throwers to laser touting robots.

The graphics are utilitarian, with the game being played on a isometric map. The game objects in some instances are quite inventive (the space chicken processing plant being a giant mincer) while others are a bit simplistic. The animation of the characters themselves is quite cool with memorable moments such as Billy Bob on the disco floor and the space chickens. The scenery is however a bit flat with little animation and little variation of detail.

The game ships with a full game editor that allows you to inflict your dastardly creations on others. Build a paradise or your own personal hell with a comprehensive set of editing tools.