Previous Next

Every so often, a game comes along that reeks of class. M.U.L.E. is one of those games. It will delight you, from its catchy theme music to our last auction.

M.U.L.E. is a strategic game, involving cunning and a touch of the stock market. "What?" I hear you say. "Not one marauding alien to blast into oblivion? Boring!" But M.U.L.E. is anything but boring. I enjoyed playing the game for hours on end.

The idea of M.U.L.E. is that you have been left on a planet and in order to survive you must develop the natural resources of the world.

This is achieved by your M.U.L.E. (Multiple Use Labour Element) - a robot designed to do all your strenuous mining tasks.

Each M.U.L.E. has to be outfitted for developing the different resources, which are food, energy and smithore.

M.U.L.E.s are made from smithore, which makes it a precious substance. Once outfitted, you must install it in your plot of land.

In the one-player game, you are competing against three computer-controlled players, but you may play against your friends if desired. After developing your stock, you go to the auction round, where you can buy or sell your stock to the other players.

This is where all you closet businessmen and women will emerge as you collude and haggle over prices. After the auction round has finished, you are then awarded a free plot of land to develop.

You might think it's easy - but just watch out for the pirates who will steal your hard-earned stock. Also, the storms will drive your M.U.L.E.s crazy. And there are other little problems that make sure you never have a dull moment.

There are plenty of other features in the game, but it would take a few pages just to note them down, let alone explain them.

To understand the game at its full potential, you really should read your manual.

M.U.L.E. has three levels - beginner, standard and tournament. Each level is challenging and enjoyable. The game is fun to play and has some nice little graphic touches and sound.

However, one possible improvement could have been the ability to save your game to disc. This is quality software from Electronic Arts, which is to be expected from this renowned software house.

M.U.L.E. will certainly become part of my collection.