Why You Can Trust CNET Bridge Constructor review: Put your thinking cap on for Bridge Constructor
Bridge Constructor offers a simple interface, with complex construction problems to solve.
Bridge Constructor for iOS, which now is one of the most popular paid titles in the iTunes App Store, is challenging, unpredictable, and one of the most irritating games I've ever played. It's a physics-based puzzler where your job is to create structurally sound bridges so that vehicles may pass over without destroying your handiwork.
Bridge Constructor
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The essence of the game is captured in a single animated GIF on a Reddit post. A tanker truck starts to cross a sturdy-looking bridge only to explode in flames while the bridge collapses beneath it. Yet, even with that mishap, the player manages to unlock a new achievement.
In my experience creating the perfect bridge was enough to drive me to distraction on some levels. But even so, I kept coming back for more.
Start building
The object of the game is to build a bridge strong enough for a pair of
, trucks, or a single gasoline tanker to cross. Each level has a list of materials that can be used to piece together the bridge, with a set budget that you can't go over.Sounds simple, enough, right? Well, just like bridge engineering in the real world, the stakes are a lot higher.
There are four different types of materials you can use when building a bridge: wood, metal beams, concrete pillars, and cables. The wood is typically used as the road for the bridge itself, and early on in the game it's also used to construct the support system. As the spans get longer and more complex, the metal beams, cables and cement pillars come into play and help strengthen your creation.
You connect the various materials together in any pattern of your choosing to build a road for the bridge, along with a support system to hold it up. Some levels are simple, requiring only the road to span a river with a triangle-style support system. Other levels are far more complicated and force you to dig deep to recall high school math, taking into account weight bearing calculations and such. I found trying to connect the various materials in a way that would create a sturdy object to be extremely challenging.
Test it out
During the building process, you can preview the structure by tapping on the play button. The preview offers you a chance to look at the bridge and how well built it is using colors to indicate its strength. The game will highlight the stronger sections in green and weak points are marked with a color ranging from yellow to dark red. The closer the color is to dark red, the weaker that particular section is.
Once you evaluate the current strength of the bridge you can elect to have the cars drive across and test it out, or go back and try to strengthen it. The preview feature is something I enjoyed using a lot, and is a critical part of the game. Often times I would build the support structure for half of the bridge, only to preview it to see if my blueprint was solid. If the section I had just built crashed into the ravine, I would start over.
Where the game gets interesting is when you make a judgement call on whether or not the bridge will hold up, even if half of it is a lighter shade of red. I found myself tempting fate and sending vehicles across the bridge even when sections were dark red just to see where it would fail. And if if the bridge did fail, I had a good idea of where the failure point was and could attempt to fix it.
On the other hand, part of me was hoping to create a sequence of events that was captured in the Reddit GIF. Just maybe, if the bridge failed in the right place, the resulting explosion would launch the tanker into the air just enough to get it to land on the other side.
In-app purchases
In-app purchase are part of nearly every game there days and Bridge Constructor is no excpetion. But I have to tip my hat to the developers for letting players use coins and points earned during gameplay to purchase items, instead of forcing users to pay with real money.
On more than one occasion, for example, I was able to get past a really difficult level by purchasing a blueprint for a bridge with coins I had earned in previous levels (you can buy blueprints for just a section of the bridge, or the entire thing if you'd like). In addition to buying solutions you also can eliminate the budget for a particular level, or all levels if you want. I'd recommend not taking that step, though. Sure, the budget can be annoying and restrictive (just ask any real bridge engineer), but it's part of the game. After all, anyone can build something that's sturdy with unlimited resources.
A couple issues
Still, I didn't like everything about Bridge Constructor. Several different times when I launched the app, a popup ad prevented me from going any further. What's more, instead of being able to close the ad I had to force-close the entire app and relaunch it.
Bridge Constructor is a universal binary, meaning the same version will work on any iOS device, including the iPhone and iPad. That's fine, but my other problem with the game is that you can't sync any game progress between multiple devices. So, if I start a game on my iPad, I can't pick up where I left off on my iPhone.
Conclusion
If there is one thing I can't say enough, it's that I wasn't kidding when I said Bridge Constructor is challenging and unpredictable. Consider that in the week I've spent playing with the app, I've completed about 50 percent of 40 total levels (not including the additional 24 available through in-app purchases). And when they're not merely testing my patience, the current levels are downright aggravating.
I'm not surprised to see the game stay at the top of App Store charts after its recently found success. I hate to even make this comparison, but Bridge Constructor can be as frustrating as Flappy Bird was at times, only not as repetitive. So if you're looking to kill some time, sharpen your problem solving skills and challenge yourself to think outside the box, Bridge Constructor is just the game to do it.