Constructor is a 1997 video game released originally for MS-DOS

MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

 Personal Computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

s, and later ported to the PlayStation and Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

-native DirectX

DirectX

Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...

 3. It was developed by System 3 and published by Acclaim

Acclaim Entertainment

Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...

.

In the game, packed with humorous undertones, the player controls a construction company in a map split between several estates, and must deal with other teams to win the game.

A sequel, Constructor: Street Wars (known as Mob Rule in the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) was released in 1999, but failed to achieve the same success of the first game.

Gameplay

The player controls a construction company, and aim to drive the other players out of business. Using teams of workers and foremen, the player must build facilities to manufacture building materials (a sawmill, concrete works, etc), in order to build houses (ranging from simple wooden cabins to large mansions) in which to house tenants who pay rent and thus fund the company, as well as producing new workers, tenants and other characters. Along the way, the player can build homes for undesirables such as gangster

Gangster

A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....

s and hippies, who work to undermine the enemy.

Reception and sales

On 14 January 2010, System 3 Software re-released Constructor for Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 PSP

PlayStation Portable

The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...

 and PS3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 systems in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 via the Playstation Network, and on 19 January 2010, Good Old Games re-released the game for sale by digital download

Digital distribution

Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...

for PC's.

Sequel

A sequel titled Constructor II was announced in April 1998 that would have players visiting the wasteland of an alien planet. The sequel maintained the style of humor present in the original, bringing back a cast of characters from the first game. New characters based on the alien theme were also added, including the Alien Egg which impregnates victims, later causing their guts to explode.