Game: Monument Builders Rushmore.
System: Nintendo Switch
Publisher/ Developer: Microïds
Price: $6.99| £6.29| €6,99
Age Rating: EU 3+| USA E
Release Date: 8th March 2019
Also Available On: IOS, Steam
No code was provided for this review, I bought it myself.
With the help of Henry Johnson, site foreman, your role is to build the four president’s statues on top of Mount Rushmore in this time management simulation game by Microïds.
A very responsible job
I guess we all know about the monument of the four Presidents’ Heads in Rushmore. Monument Builders Rushmore tells the true story behind the history of building the four heads. Send your work force off to perform various tasks. Do so within the time limit and manage resources and most of all: have fun.
There are 30 unique levels including more complex challenges as you progress through the levels. The levels revolve around four building’s to construct with each producing a specific product. Like for instance the Cake shop that supplies food or the factory that fills the orders of rope or scaffolding to help in the building of the monument itself.
Each building can be upgraded three times, and each upgrade increases the amount of production.
Along with the 4 buildings to construct you sometimes run out of a particular item to make a product. These can then be ordered through the warehouse. This means some strategy is needed to make sure what you have ordered arrives in time to not hold up production of items needed to complete the level.
The gameplay, without having to do the heavy lifting
At the start of each level your foreman lets you know what the objectives are to complete the level within the time frame. Everything you need to complete is listed at the top of the screen so you don’t forget. You are required to complete the objectives. They range from clearing the road, fixing the potholes in the road, to allow the products to leave the area, and making various products. The items to be produced all have a relevance to building statues, items like rope or dynamite to blow up the rocks on the mountain, even scaffolding for the workmen to stand on.
While all this is going on there are also various security threats that pop up in some levels. You will find thieves lurking about and you have to get rid of them before they get to the warehouse. Here everything is stored which they can steal, like cash. A few taps with the finger or highlighting them with the cursor, tap A and they disappear. Or you have to pay traders off so they remove themselves from the road they are blocking, or feed dogs so they move as well.
Variety in management tasks
There is quite a bit of variety of tasks to do on each level as you build the presidents on Mount Rushmore. Some time management games can get a bit repetitive but this one mixes it up just enough to keep your interest to complete all the levels.
There are various power-ups that appear in the later levels. These are obtained via a Sharman that you meet. Power ups include Energy Potions that speed up your workers and Special Oils that speed up production in the Factory, Shop and cement factory.
In between each level you are shown a little snippet of the story as it moves along, this is the true story of the building of the monuments so you learn as you play if you didn’t know the history behind the construction of the monuments.
Controls, music and graphics
Controls couldn’t be easier either use the joy-con to order your workers around or you can use the Touchscreen. Both work well, however, I found the joy-con and button option a bit fiddly as the cursor is hard to control. I mostly played using the Touchscreen with no problems at all.
Music is upbeat and set in the era that the monuments where built in, it’s fine for what it is but nothin to get excited about.
The game looks well and the levels are quite detailed as you can see from the screen shots.
Conclusion
Once you complete all 30 levels and have managed an overall score of 3 stars on each level then Bonus features open up. These contain a replay of some cut scenes as well as pictures from the building of the monuments. I would have preferred to have extra levels open up once I completed the game rather than some cut scenes I’d already seen though.
The only replay value in the game once you have finished is to go back through the levels and try and beat your own score, that’s pretty usual for this style of game.
Monument Builders Rushmore is a good time management game that I played over the course of a few days in short bursts. I enjoyed the variety of buildings and challenges.
I’ve played similar games on my IPad and I found that everything ran just as smoothly on the Switch. This means it’s a great fit for the portability of the console.
I like Monument Builders Rushmore
