|
|
|
|
X2 - The Threat |
X2 has now been released and I received my pre-ordered copy today so I thought I'd post my impression of the game. I have only played a single session so can't go into too much depth, so I might add to this later on.
The game starts with a fairly standard computer generated cut-scene, which was a bit jerky on my box, (maybe due to the fact that it's being run directly from the CD and not than the hard drive). Egosoft, the developers are German and they have done a pretty decent job of translating the entire game into English, but there are tell-tale signs that it has been translated from a German script, or maybe an English written script by someone for who English is their second language? The is no big deal as far as I'm concerned and it comes across reasonably well.
The initial cut-scene is quite long and one thing you notice is that the graphics is really quite lush, but not the best I've seen. There is plenty of "graphical sugar" in the game.. ship's thrust is really "shiny" as are the local stars and basically anything else they could poke a stick at! There are pretty nebulas scattered around that you can see in space with the naked eye and basically everything you can see is glossed up to look pretty. This is pretty standard in computer games these days, but all in all X2 has some of the best graphics I've seen in a space sim. Not that that is necessarily a positive in oppinion I actually think they've overdone it a bit.
Having worked on a hard sci fi project [see OA Space Trader Sim], I have notices plenty of soft sci fi ideas in the game, many I probably would never have picked up before working in the OA framework.. In cut scenes they have hovering vehicles in futuristic cities, similar to the movie The 5th Element.. (not sure if hard science allows for this?) also in the cut scene a huge bulky vessel launched into orbit from the planet surface with relative ease in a matter of a few seconds! This made me cringe a bit! But I'd have to say the worse part though is the non-newtonian flight engine. This was a let down, especially after playing I War 2. Space flight is like driving a car. If you cut your engines your space ship stops and you can go from maximum speed to a complete stop in a matter of a few seconds..and maximum speed? what is maximum speed in space? The only thing I can think of that would make it plausible is that when you're in proximity of a cluster of space stations there may be a speed limit imposed which is programmed into your ship's computer, but this suggestion is thrown out the window by the fact that you can buy a bigger engine which gives you a higher max speed. Another soft sci fi idea (and this is also standard in space sims) is that there are a jump gates which take you between star systems. In the game these are believed to have been built by an alien race of unknown origin with none of the scientists having a clue about how they work. I suppose these could be the equivalent of wormholes in OA, but you can just fly through them.. not sure if it works this way in OA, but I'm guessing not. Another thing is asteroid fields where the asteroids are close together.. perhaps the scene was based at a Lagrange point which may make it more plausible but I doubt it.. asteroid fields are also pretty standard thing in space games, but saying this, the asteroid fields in X2 are not nearly as bad as the debris fields in Freelancer!
There are also some psuedo hard sci fi ideas too which surprised me a little. I have docked with a rotating space station. You actually leave your vehicle in zero g conditions and can fly around in a sort of jet suit which is pretty cool! The bizarre thing is, not all stations rotate and in one scene in particular, you leave your ship in zero g in a non rotating station and are moments later seen walking around the base in Earth G conditions!
Having been a bit critical here I suppose you have to bear in mind that the game is not trying to be hard science and are no doubt heavily influenced be a swag of other similar space games in the genre.
Once docked in the station you can view a bulletin board and there are missions you can take to earn $'s Their bulletin board displays news items also. My initial feeling is they have done ok in this area (some of the messages are pretty weird however), but it's too early to tell really. You can trade commodities (but I haven't done so yet), they have a limited range of about 15 or so.. perhaps this is so that the player isn't flooded with choices - a point Alan raised in an earlier discussion. Instead of bars, you talk to people via a commlink, even when docked in the station. The options are limited - so far I've only been given a choice of asking for help, directions or threatening them to drop all their cargo or else...
Despite my criticisms, all in all it's been fun to play so far, but time will tell how long that will last. I'm yet to try areas of the game such as building factories and combat, so it will be interesting to see how these work. I think there will be some good ideas to be gained from X2 which I will probably mention in later posts. I'm looking forward to playing more!
