Constructor HD's grand opening coming February 28th

Constructor HD [official site], System 3's remake of their funny and violent town-building strategy game from 1997, finally has a release date: February 28th. The game is running a year late but have you ever tried to make a video game while skinheads pogo outside your window chanting and burping, a ghost keeps spooking you, a hippy is picketing the lot, and a hitman is trying to off your gaffer? I'm quite looking forward to picking it up again and building my empire back up amongst all this this silly Beano-grade Britishness.

Constructor, to explain, is a town-building game with a pleasingly low-level scale. Rather than some omnipotent citygod, carving the landscape to your will, you're simply a contractor working at the mercy of the town council to build and manage estates.

As you build out and tech up, your problems aren't traffic jams or failing businesses but more on the level of tenants demanding a new kitchen or complaining about their neighbours' garden gnomes. Or a rival contractor sending 'undesirables' to mess with your estates (you can send your own after your rivals too, of course). Hippies, malicious plumbers, ghosts, clowns, thugs, chainsaw-wielding psychos... maybe these towns are set in the world of The Young Ones?

Like many games from developers who started in the eighties, it has that gentle sense of British silliness that's obsessed with class, standing, and what the neighbours might think. Also, it sounds like they've got Boycie off Only Fools and Horses to voice the announcer in this remake? That sort of silliness.

As well as tarting the game up with HD-o-vision graphics, Constructor HD also brings a level editor, a tutorial, and other new odds and ends.

February 28th it is! Before then, on January 31st System 3 will give the original game to everyone who Likes 'em on Facebook along with a demo for the remake. Presumably they'll release the demo for everyone else after a while?