Prison Architect REVIEW
By Lee Marcussen
Doing Time Ain't Half Bad
Prison Architect caught my eye through the Xbox One Game Preview offering. Game Preview gives you a chance to try the game demo out and give feedback. I started Prison Architect using the game preview trial, and while a cool system, it does only give you a small taste of the game. Some of the functions were unavailable or not well explained in the demo. Therefore for anyone who has played the game preview it is just a sample where the actual game is much more fleshed out. After getting access to the full game, I can confidently say it does not disappoint.
Prison Architect gives you an in-depth look at how to plan, build, staff and manage many different styles of prisons. You first start off with the option to play as a Prison Architect where you start off with a blank space and you build how you want. The other is Prison Warden which lets you pick from ten different style prisons that range in area size, capacity and in security wise. There also is the Prison Stories mode which kind of is a step by step tutorial mode to teach you how to play, it does give you actual objectives to complete while it does teach you the basics on gameplay. The first prison story has you build an execution room and gives you a story on the guy you end up executing like why he's on death row. (kinda cool back story).
Prison Architect gives you an in-depth look at how to plan, build, staff and manage many different styles of prisons. You first start off with the option to play as a Prison Architect where you start off with a blank space and you build how you want. The other is Prison Warden which lets you pick from ten different style prisons that range in area size, capacity and in security wise. There also is the Prison Stories mode which kind of is a step by step tutorial mode to teach you how to play, it does give you actual objectives to complete while it does teach you the basics on gameplay. The first prison story has you build an execution room and gives you a story on the guy you end up executing like why he's on death row. (kinda cool back story).
The gameplay is similar to other simulation/managements games like Sim City or Roller Coaster Tycoon. The Architect mode allows you to build everything and anything you need for the prison. The nice feature that you have is the planning control where you can highlight areas and decided what rooms they will be before you start building or expanding. The D-pad controls allow you to quickly flow through the different style walls and door selections, flooring styles, Objects for any room in the prison, power supply and wiring, water supply and piping. Building is very easy and streamlined turning green when okay to place than red when an object is in the way. The use of the quick room tool is helpful allowing you to create rooms quick and easy. There are several different rooms that are available, and anything from a church to the security room can be built. The Demolition tool is easy and allows you to pick one object or many at a time and is easy to control to prevent accidental demolitions.
The other side of the game is running of the prison which begins with the Bureaucracy page which is a tree system on buying and sort of researching aspects that help in prison running. It starts out with the Warden as the trunk and makes its way through the maintenance section which branches onto things like prison labor, cleaning crews, and grounds maintenance. Other branches are the Security, Prison policy, Psychological analysis, legal attorneys, healthcare, and education. There comes hiring your prison staff which goes from guards, armored guards, k-9 units, doctors, cooks, janitors and so on. You are also in charge of managing the prisoners and their needs as far as comfort and security needs. Some prisoners require higher level security and pose more of threat than others which calls for higher end guards and security cameras. You can also assign prisoners to do tasks such as serve food or do laundry. Another option is to set up programs for prisoners such as workshops. A big part of the managing side is keeping an eye on your money flow as far as profits and costs. Random events happen such as prison riots when your prisons are upset or fires, you have to set up responses for this such as riot guards or firemen. The managing side is very rewarding and takes a lot of time to figure out and run properly, but still maintains a certain level of fun.
I really enjoyed the chance to work with Prison Architect. I liked the Architect side of the game more than the Warden because I like constructing the prison the way I want to. I really enjoyed making a max security prison and holding the max security inmates. I was not very good with hiring enough guards and had a few prison riots but the learning curve is very easy for the game and the tutorial prison stories make it easier to get the hang of. Overall Prison Architect gives you the best experience on building and running a prison that a game could . It is very detailed with the construction and even more thorough with the managing side of the prison. Controls for both are very easy to use and work great on the Xbox controller. Graphics wise, being a cartoon style works for it and visually it still has lots of detail in the objects, but the people are basically a pear shaped body with a floating head. If you're looking for a nice game to have total control as far as construction and management goes, this is a great game for that. Prison Architect is going to make you want to stay in its prisons for longer sentences, and I mean that in a totally positive way.
I really enjoyed the chance to work with Prison Architect. I liked the Architect side of the game more than the Warden because I like constructing the prison the way I want to. I really enjoyed making a max security prison and holding the max security inmates. I was not very good with hiring enough guards and had a few prison riots but the learning curve is very easy for the game and the tutorial prison stories make it easier to get the hang of. Overall Prison Architect gives you the best experience on building and running a prison that a game could . It is very detailed with the construction and even more thorough with the managing side of the prison. Controls for both are very easy to use and work great on the Xbox controller. Graphics wise, being a cartoon style works for it and visually it still has lots of detail in the objects, but the people are basically a pear shaped body with a floating head. If you're looking for a nice game to have total control as far as construction and management goes, this is a great game for that. Prison Architect is going to make you want to stay in its prisons for longer sentences, and I mean that in a totally positive way.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
|
+Easy Controls
+Lots to Manage +Allows You to be Creative |
- Harder to get the Hang of
- Alot of Pop Up Side Objectives |
Release Date: 6/28/2016
Developer: Introversion Software / Double Eleven Limited
Publisher: Double Eleven Limited
Developer: Introversion Software / Double Eleven Limited
Publisher: Double Eleven Limited