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[emiro]

Okay, I'm really bringing this up from the ashes. This game, by Kimbro Software, is a space/city-builder. Other names it seems to have gone by are Planetfall (probably got in trouble with the more popular "Planetfall"), and Ares. Released in the late 90's, it's creator has vanished from the web. I was, however, able to find their website with the wayback machine. A demo version (can only play a 10th or so of the game) is available there.

Some unique featuers:

Technologies: researched at laboratories (that you must first build). Lots of freedom in what order to research things, but there are obvious pro's and even con's to some tech.

Resources: Food, water, metal, oxygen, labor force... must all be *meticulously* kept in balance.

Disasters: Meteors, earthquakes, deterioration, spontaneous miscarriages, "cabin fever", experiments gone wrong, and xeno viruses all wreak havoc on your meticulous balance (keep a history of saves!)

Happiness: keeping citizens happy means keeping up with demands for resources, housing, entertainment, health facilities, civil services, work-hours per day.

Story: Unlike other Civ-type games, there is one overarching story that pops up every now and then. And if you don't skip over it, there is a considerable opportunity to connect with the life of your little colony as it struggles for survival. If I recall properly, I honestly got emotional the first time I played this game--happy and sad, at moments.