Starcom: Nexus

Starcom: Nexus

This review is directed at the developer, moreso than the game. For players, it is a fairly solid experience for the first 2/3s of the game, or roughly 25 hours, and so I highly recommend you play it for that part. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend the game, as the developer has made some very bad choices and has no intention of rectifying them. I’ve felt this way about the game and their choices since launch in Dec 2019, but I felt I’d wait a year, see if they would address the problems on their own and try out the game then. I’ve done so, and all of the issues, I had at launch are still present in the last 1/3 of the game, and therefore I see no alternative but to write up this lengthy, negative review.

Real player with 117.5 hrs in game


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OK just finished it at this moment and had to write a review about it.

First of all this is a one-man-game; Kevin the dDev did a fantastic job, is pretty active all around the web answering questions and ironing out bugs. I played it just now, as I told ya, so most of the problems I saw on the web when looking up something were ironed out already so dont believe what you read, this is a 0 bug game at the moment.

Second, the FEEL. If you are looking to scratch that itch left from Freelancer, played Rebel Galaxy and loved it ypu will love this as well. Never thought that a top-down game would fill the void of Freelancer but yeah, it did. And it did it nicely.

Real player with 56.5 hrs in game

Starcom: Nexus on Steam

Space Rangers HD: A War Apart

Space Rangers HD: A War Apart

This is the kind of game that, had it received proper financial support, marketing and translation back in the day - could now compete on the market with such titles as Grand Theft Auto and Sims. Or, at the very least - with X-com, for the top TBS. The reason is that the game is purely unique - not only in its gameplay that has no analogue, but also in the mixture of genres that together present a picture of indescribable detail. Sure, the game is pretty much old 2006 version(which was old even by that time), because that’s the best fans and SNK can do with their resources, but its value is not in the shiny graphics. Well, what can it offer?

Real player with 399.8 hrs in game


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TL;DR

It is one of the most innovative, clever, and replayable games in the known Universe. I have played it probably a hundred times since its release in 2004, and I still want to play it ‘one more time.’ Thanks for being there for me for so many years!

Full Review

Today is the day when this fantastic game turns 16. Funnily enough, it still receives free updates even now, which says a lot because it does not contain multiplayer mode. It runs great on modern machines, looks beautiful on HD resolutions, has many customizable settings and perks to randomize and broaden the experience. Developers have polished it so many times while contributors made so much additional content during these years that it’s a wonder to behold! The core gameplay is something newer gamers might find hard to pick up these days. It is from an era when you had to read and learn a lot to understand your options. And this game is very complex: it mixes turn-based space combat with RPG, adventure text quests, trading micromanagement, RTS missions, arcade-style shooting, you name it. If you are sedulous, you may play it for years with great joy. I don’t know how good it is in English, though. I speak Russian, so I always played it in its original Russian localization. Probably, the language is why the game didn’t receive much recognition beyond Russian-speaking countries, I guess.

Real player with 369.3 hrs in game

Space Rangers HD: A War Apart on Steam

Between the Stars

Between the Stars

I want to love Between the Stars, I really, really, really, really, REALLY BADLY want to love Between the Stars. At first blush, this was the “you are a capital warship” space game I really wanted.

But the following problems need to be addressed by the devs before I can recommend this game:

First: The un-sane crafting system. “Crafting takes real time” works in an MMORPG because the MMORPG has a vested financial interest in you taking a lot of time to do it. It does not work in Between the Stars. I have found myself spending several hours of real time not playing my game, with it alt-tabbed out in the background, waiting for loot to un-craft for crafting materials. This is not something that you can “just do” while playing either, because the “level” of your recycling center is based upon which engineers you put on “active duty,” meaning that if you have your recycling engineers on active duty, you don’t have the Specialists who enhance your loot generation on active duty. The same goes for crafting stuff, too, which follows the expected MMORPG schema of “normal quality” “uncommon quality” and “rare quality,” and of course you’re an idiot if you invest crafting materials in upgrading a weapon or auxiliary gear item of less than Rare quality. After all, it took you literal hours of real time spent not playing your game to get those!

Real player with 79.5 hrs in game


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I quite enjoy this game honestly, even in its current state as of June 2020.

TLDR, This is worth a purchase as is, but it also has a lot of potential I’m excited about.

Pros:

+Fun combat with big ships: As much fun as tiny, nimble fighter games can be, I’ve always been wanting a game where I’m piloting a capital ship with a ton of cannons or lasers. Rebel Galaxy comes to mind, and seems like a good metric to compare this game to. If you enjoyed that, you will enjoy this, especially if you wanted that to have some vertical movement too.

Real player with 53.1 hrs in game

Between the Stars on Steam

Starpoint Gemini Warlords

Starpoint Gemini Warlords

Starpoint Gemini Warlords updated review Current 23rd Nov 2017 - Latest DLC -Cycle of Warfare.

LGM are a small 15 – 20 staff development team, been making the SPG series now for quite some years, and Warlords is the third incarnation of the series. Warlords is a culmination of developer and community coming together with ideas to make what Warlords is currently. (I thank our community for being such a decent group of players with feedback, good bad and ugly in professional manor).

SPG Warlords is a capital ship combat and trade game with some side elements of a 4X game, in resource management to create fleets, build ore mining stations, gas mining stations, junk reclaimers and research further equipment, upgrades for your fleet and mines, and upgrades to your Head Quarters to improve all facets of your game play.

Real player with 520.5 hrs in game

This will be my first in-depth review of the videogame that I’ve ever done. It may seem a little unpolished but for the sake of Starpoint Gemini and the potential that it has, and does have, I found it best to do this.

If you want to know if you should get this game or not the answer will be yes. This game has the potential to be the Skyrim of space exploration, battles, and trade.

Graphics.

The graphics in this game are spot on. It will be very hard to find other space games that have the amount of detail that this game has when it comes to space specific things such as asteroids nebulas planets and the ships themselves. So visually speaking if you want that kind of visual stimulation so you feel relaxed when you’re traveling and it feels like you are traveling in space this is the game to get. I suggest that you go online and look at some of the images themselves because what you will see in the Google search or whatever search you use you will also find in this game as well.

Real player with 197.0 hrs in game

Starpoint Gemini Warlords on Steam

VoidExpanse

VoidExpanse

I can’t really speak to multiplayer as I haven’t gotten into it yet but my solo experience thus far has been a lot of fun.

I started out as a fighter, I knew that combat was going to be prevalent no matter where I went so I wanted a little head start in that department. After taking a good look at the skill trees I decided that I actually wanted most if not all of them so throughout my playtime I have been carefully managing what I invest in next. The game can be a little grindy, especially if you’ve chosen to grind as I have, but it’s always felt rewarding. Getting that next skill, being able to buy and then use that shiny new hull or weapon or ship upgrade is satisfying.

Real player with 180.3 hrs in game

I’m currently 12 hours in, and I have no idea why the reviews for are “Mixed.” I am in love with this game!

Please note that my review is for single player only. This review won’t do you much good if you want this game for multiplayher

So many of the reviewers are reviewing this as if it’s a AAA game with AAA production values and money. It’s not. It’s $15. However, if the idea of a top-down 2D Freelancer-style game appeals to you, in which you can feel awesome by controlling a spaceship using WASD and the mouse, then this is definitely a good buy.

Real player with 50.5 hrs in game

VoidExpanse on Steam

Eternity Convergence

Eternity Convergence

Eternity Convergence is a space Sci-fi RPG that follows in the vein of classic space CPRGs containing branching story dialog trees and 3D graphical combat.

You begin as a novice pilot and miner who discovers an ancient artifact of incredible power during a mining mission. At the same time other artifacts have started to appear on numerous planets and their acquisition has thrown several neighboring galaxies into chaos. Amongst the disarray an organized clandestine force has begun to seek out and remove anyone in the possession of these great tools of power.

Eternity Convergence on Steam

Spaceforce Rogue Universe HD

Spaceforce Rogue Universe HD

A game that launched in the dark ages of pc gaming and one of the last true oldschool spaceship pew scifi/action/rpgs

A game that many pre-alpha and released games , failed to beat gameplay wise , if you are looking for a fast spaceship pew pew scifi/action/ this is it until a better game comes along whenever that may be, at any rate some of the highlights :

. ship upgrades

. cockpit camera ( with 3 modes no hud/partial/nose cam) /// 3rd person camera ( with/without hud )/// free camera

. perfect fov

Real player with 41.2 hrs in game

8/10

With improvements, Spaceforce Rogue Universe could be one of the best space simulators.

For about 10 €, you will get the following features:

  • excellent combat mechanics (space battles in this game are really satysfing)

  • challenging AI (if you’re not careful, you will die)

  • a good diplomacy system involving different races (10 civilizations)

  • a good trading system (you can trade over 50 goods, included narcotics)

  • scientific, headhunting, escort and other special quests

  • you can recruit wingmen (up to 3) for personal defence

Real player with 17.8 hrs in game

Spaceforce Rogue Universe HD on Steam

Star Nomad 2

Star Nomad 2

Not quite sure how to recommend this game. Overall i feel it’s a mediocre game. It feels kinda flat to me. Once i got the best ship/gear that i could and still found myself overmatched and ineffectual at overall game progression (conquering the sector) the game lost its allure.

I’ll try to review the game by going down the bullet list of key features from the store page.

Squad RPG progression via skills & perks, upgrades & modules.

Yes, to a VERY basic extent. your squad has 10 levels, 2 options per level. If there are gear upgrades, they’ve not been implemented yet, or are somehow so hidden that i’ve not found them in my hours of playing.

Real player with 68.6 hrs in game

I’m a sucker for these kinds of space games, so it was inevitable that this would end up in my library after I saw it show up on Steam the other day. Been playing it and enjoying it immensely so far. It shares some gameplay similarities swith SPAZ, Void Expanse, and Endless Sky.

The skill and module systems really do make a significant difference in how a ship performs in a given role. Early on, I went the route of utility and speed, and my corvette (the lightest class of ship) was soon easily outmaneuvering even enemy corvettes. The choices are permanent, with no option to respec, so it forces you to consider all your options and plan it out, though I haven’t encountered a “level cap” thus far, so it seems like eventually you’ll be able to allocate points in most if not everything.

Real player with 64.4 hrs in game

Star Nomad 2 on Steam

Star Wolves 3: Civil War

Star Wolves 3: Civil War

I miss this game, I think I’ll have to reinstall it and have another go.

What you see here is a rather niche game, an early RPG hybrid space RTS, it is immensely fun, and while it can involve a lot of saving it scratches an itch in space game fans. I’ve not found another game that really does what this game does, the starpoint Gemini games come close but not quite like this one.

Looks wise it can be similar to the Homeworld games in many respects, especially with the engine trails that allow you to track fighters easier. Imagine if instead of a massive fleet like you have in Homeworld you had a carrier, and your heroes commanded the fighters.

Real player with 173.4 hrs in game

This is my Review of Star Wolves 3: Civil War.

SW3:CW is a non-direct Sequel to SW2 which… had its flaws.

You start the game off and get instantly Asked what kind of Skill-Tree you want to follow, note that this is a Permanent selection, each of the Tree’s is balanced out enough, but still there “Rocket Salvo” which when Skilled to max extent, will not only let your Pilots shoot rockets at an INSANE rate, but it also affects Big Guns/Small Guns and other types of Weaponry.

Which makes the game very Easy in fact, you can take down several Battleships in just a couple of Seconds with the right Weapons, not even including Modded Weapons. (Full Plasma + Endgame Rocket Salvo = Ez Win).

Real player with 83.8 hrs in game

Star Wolves 3: Civil War on Steam

Star Wolves

Star Wolves

Bottom line? A good strategy space game. If you dont like strategy nor space, then maybe you should pass.

So far, I’ve had a really good time playing Space Wolves. There is a decent amount of ship customization, and basic character building elements change how your character plays. There is a decent variety of ships available, mixing things up. The missions arent boring and you stay engaged while playing. There are some tough choices to make occasionally, so you feel like your have a say in how the game plays out. You get to select the order you play your missions, like a real mercenary. The graphics are 2005-2007ish, which still looks decent, and it can have its beautiful moments, like when you explode the enemy capital ships.

Real player with 63.9 hrs in game

Star Wolves is a hard game to describe. It’s probably best described as a space battle manager where you are managing this mercenary group, Star Wolves, in performing missions for the highest bidder (but you do get to choose). You don’t control the crafts directly, but you give waypoints, and attack orders, missile launches and defenses, and so on. You can configure each fighter for different roles: missile defense (jamming), support, escort, attack, and so on. The mothership is also under your command and serves as repair and rearm station for all the fighters, and it is armed with multiple turrets (albeit, it can be overwhelmed). The idea is to defeat the enemy forces without suffering losses of your own by managing your resources: the pilots and the fighters, carefully. Each pilot has his or her own skill tree and can be unlocked with experience points, which opens up special abilities that can be tapped in battle, such as better accuracy, double defense for 30 seconds, and so on. There is also a bit of trading and salvage as you can often salvage weapons and missiles off destroyed enemy ships, and sometimes, even steal whole fighters. Plot is somewhat on the lame side, and most dialogs are in text only, but graphics are good. All in all, it depends what sort of gamer are you. If you want hands-on fly-the-ship kind this is NOT for you. But if you like giving orders and see them carried out this is good for you.

Real player with 45.7 hrs in game

Star Wolves on Steam