Games Convention: Star Wolves Impressions
Jaz, 2003-08-29

The Games Convention 2003 in Leipzig was significantly bigger than the first GC in 2002 - and what's more, this time a significantly larger amount of CRPGs (or games with RPG elements) were shown. Unfortunately, the two days I spent at the GC weren't enough to cover all of the RPG/like games - in fact, I was really glad I glimpsed as many games as I did, because sprinting from booth to booth, from award ceremony to press center and back while elbowing my way through hordes of gamers took a considerable amount of time.

I spent a considerable amount of time at the booth of Russian publisher/producer/developer 1C which occupied a space right between several big booths, stalls and stages. The advantage was obvious, many gamers stopped to watch the trailers of the 1C games displayed on two big TFT displays. The disadvantage: even though we found a somewhat quieter place in the ‘backyard' of the booth, the noise level was so high PR manager Anatoly Subbotin and I had to shout to converse. 1C had brought many promising games to the fair, four of which were either CRPGs or sported enough RPG elements to warrant coverage. Start Wolves was one of them.

Star Wolves (1C, PC)
Star Wolves is a 3D space CRPG with strategic elements taking place in a future universe shaken by political crises. Three corporations control economy, planetary governments are corrupt, the space lanes are filled with Imperial patrol ships, pirates and even Berserkers (Fred Saberhagen, anybody?). A wonderful place to make a living, isn't it?

You start the game with an old ship, but opportunities to upgrade your skills or the ship itself (or get another ship altogether) are manifold. Then again, you can hire NPCs to work for you so you needn't set out on a mission alone. Whether you keep and upgrade your companions or follow a ‘hire and fire' strategy is up to you, as is your career path during the game. There may be one main plot, but you can join any faction you want and thus play the game from many different angles.
Does all of this sound familiar? Yes, it does. Star Wolves is Freelancer-meets-Homeworld, a graphically brilliant space strategical catering to the more casual gamers (the space map is, for example, 2D instead of 3D so navigation is easier than in Homeworld).

First Impression
Graphically impressive spacer game which will appeal to players who liked either Homeworld or Freelancer, or both. Are the Star Wolves able to keep up with Homeworld 2? We'll see.