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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Plying the space lanes in glorious 2D |
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First off, this isn't about X2 but I figured my fellow space-farers would most appreciate it and I hear the moderator of this forum is a nice guy, so he might not consider it off-topic. 
I needed a change of playing pace and after some time with Fallout 2 a post on another board brought my attention to a game I played a year ago and wrote off: Escape Velocity Nova. I was wrong about it - EV Nova is a fantastic game.
It's a strange retro beast, however. Basically it's a marriage of old '80s 2D top-down arcade games like Asteroids and space trading games like Elite/X2. There's a full, freeform universe with zillions of sectors that you can trade, fight, pirate or bounty-hunt in. There's 6 or so different governments in conflict with each other and you can walk on neutral ground or choose to side with one or another, opening up 6 different story lines. You can own multiple ships, capture ships and conquer planets (although you can't own manufacturing stations or remote trade like X2). There's even some Nethack inspiration with more randomness than X2 or Freelancer.
All the while this is presented in a 2D top-down view in old-fashioned 2D graphics. Ships have inertia, so movement is remarkably reminiscent of Asteroids.
So you're thinking, why would I trade in X2 or Freelancer's stunning graphics for an 80's throwback?
Because it's surprisingly addictive, just like an old arcade game but with heaps of depth. It may not have X2's remote trading but the ship upgrade options leave X2 for dead. Lots of different weapons, scanners, jammers, sensors, batteries, shields, hull upgrades, larger ships have multiple crews to hire - it's mind-boggling.
Anyway, if you'd like a change of pace that's almost the opposite of X2 and yet still the same genre, download the shareware demo from the link above. Just do yourself a favour and persist a little longer than the movement or graphics would initially suggest to glimpse the depth. Landing on the first planet will get you a mentor named Barry, who will show you the ropes in around an hour.
Keep an open mind and hope you like it.
PS. Holding down the down-arrow reverses your ship so you can apply thrust in the opposite direction to slow or stop...
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Editor @ RPGDot |
Mon Aug 09, 2004 10:54 am |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
| Re: Plying the space lanes in glorious 2D |
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quote:
Originally posted by Dhruin
First off, this isn't about X2 but I figured my fellow space-farers would most appreciate it and I hear the moderator of this forum is a nice guy, so he might not consider it off-topic.
Funny- I heard the mod was the southern exposure of northbound horse. 
I don't want to derail from X2 again. I almost lost my enthusiasm while waiting for v1.4 and I hate to risk it again. Once I'm done with my grand plan to own the universe, this game sounds interesting. I've never been much of a graphics whore anyway, so "ugly with great gameplay" doesn't scare me at all.
Thanks for the recommendation.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Mon Aug 09, 2004 7:22 pm |
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