What our customer's say!"Could have been good, but...", Well,
First thing, even after installing all the "updates" I crash to desktop when entering "wormholes" or whatever.
I'd solve this, and move on, if the world was as imersive as "Hardwar" or "Privateer", but it's not.
It's not even as good as Freelancer, (which was pretty pale in comparison to Privateer, but good just the same).
However, IF it weren't so buggy, it might make a desent distraction. I might fix these problems and move on, but the game's not worth it.
I'd just go for Independence war two (which I haven't played) and hope for the best. Or, better still, stick with Elite, Privateer and Hardwar. You can't go wrong there, if you like open ended gameing.
Basically, it could have been good, maybe even great, but ended up being why I'm glad these companies went bankrupt. There failure puts a smile on my face.
If only all the programers who worked on this title could have died horribly, (at my hands) then I'd be happy...
Basically, if you like abuse, buy this game.
It bothers me that none of the other reviewers warn you of these problems, but I thought that I had too. You don't need this thing.
If Iwar 2 isn't a BIG improvement, I'll tell you about it...
rod
"BRILLIANT!", This game offers something truly unique among space combat games (a sadly depleted and dying genre from all appearances), it tries to build a real concept of space warfare. There's none of the usual "I can fly like a fighter jet despite the lack of air" for I-War, if Physics says no, the game says no, and while this makes the initial gameplay more difficult for the casual gamer, a hard-core sim freak, like myself, will find this to be a much-desired break from the usual fare. In addition there is an incredible variety and unique design for each of the game's missions (from the compulsory escort and patrol missions to fantastic deep strike/special operations missions) which, though often long (the game DOESN'T feature a save game feature, which is its biggest failing), are imminently memorable in their own ways, and often require the player to use his intelligence as much as his trigger finger. Despite its age, the game still looks fantastic and plays like a dream (if you can get it to work on your computer, note that it does NOT like hardware-rendered graphics). I could go on, noting the excellent dialogue, characters, cut-scenes, and storyline, but suffice it to say that this is truly a step above all other space sims I have played, even surpassing Freespace 2 in my estimation. If you can get your hands on a copy, give it a go, it's a hidden jewel.
"Moderate", It is fun to travel around in accurate celestial maps. Take a trip from Earth to Mars in a few minutes, etc. The physics are amazing. Unlike other games, the ship actually has to use thrusters in order to change direction. In other games, ships in space could somehow turn like an Earth-based fighter jet. In this, once you start moving, you could turn around and, without thrusters, travel backwards through space.
The main problems with the game is overscripting and its very steep learning curve. The missions are WAYYYY too long, and for beginner commanders, it is very difficult to make the craft function properly. I'd recommend this game only if you're willing to put a lot of time into learning the controls and tactics.
"Good for hard core space flight enthusiasts", If you own a lot of space flight games, this will be an addictive addition to your collection. In many ways revolutionary, it is entirely more challenging than most of its counterparts.
But challenge ain't all it's cracked up to be. There's no absorbing 'universe' here in which to get lost. Campaigns do build on each other, to an extent--and get very much harder--but there's no sense of real, plotted progress.
Purists would undoubtedly find little difficulty with this. The stuff's in the time spent at joystick, they would argue. But for me, I'd gladly sacrifice a tiny bit of 'revolutionary physics-based modeling' for a reason to care.
"The best space combat sim to date", This is the best space combat sim todate, that is if you're looking for a realistic one... if you're addicted to games like x-wing or tie fighter , then this will either be a nice change of pace or a fustrating piece of crap... it uses actual physics in it's flight model. to turn, you actually have to fire thrusters to change your direction. Also, your ship ins't a sleek litle fighter, it's a pretty big starship, so fighting in a battle takes some thought, skill and teqnique. there's no turning on a dime on this one.
