Starpoint Gemini 2
- Details
- Created on Sunday, 05 October 2014 18:50
- Written by KTP
Starpoint Gemini 2:Flying through space all cool in my Pontiac Aztec
I have some questions for you. How bad do you need a space combat game? You don't need one? Okay. See you later. How about the rest of you? Can you wait for the release dates of Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen? You can? Okay. See you later. Now. For the rest of you. Did you like Freespace? Wait. No. Damn it. I meant Freelancer. FreeLANCER. Where are you going? What? Oh well. Just a handful of you. Have I got some good news for the three of you.
For those that have never played Freelancer, it was a third person view spaceship sim where you could trade, become a bounty hunter, or hunt prey as a pirate. While it was a decent enough game, it did create a cult following with its acquired taste gameplay since many fans of the genre were used to first person or cockpit views. Mods are still being made for this game to this date which is pretty impressive for a game that is over ten years old. Starpoint Gemini 2 takes what it built with the first game and looks to expand it with RPG features and more dynamic trade system. The gameplay sounds great on paper, but there are several problems that detract from it.
There are times when the game looks really good.
Let's get it out there that there are several annoying bugs right out of the gate from its rocky transition to full fledged release. It's forgivable since the devs have been on top of it this and are active with the community for stomping them out. I guess that kinda puts the game ahead in the realm of PC gaming. The campaign feels unpolished, unfinished, and just really boring. It doesn't really do anything but force to go from point A, then point B, maybe shoot some pirates, talk to some person that tells you to point B. I think deep down in the developers hearts they kinda just tacked in on giving people two option to just start with free-roam mode. But probably the biggest thing that irked me was not necessarily the weird UI (which is kinda like a sweater you throw on thinking it's shitty, but once you break it in, it becomes a part of you) but how it is graphically designed. The text, images, and layout doesn't seem clean at all. Everything looks muddled and uninspired. Ship designs are boring and I was even annoyed at the color choices in the HUD.
You can pursue the life of a miner if enjore routine and are contemplating suicide.
Does all this make Starpoint Gemini 2 a bad game? No. It doesn't help, but no. It's actually not bad from a gameplay perspective. The game has a decent leveling system that locks access to bigger, more destructive ships. The trading system / news network changes things up and makes being a trader a very viable option. There is also modding support, and last time I checked, people are already pushing new content out there. There are a lot of things to keep you busy in the game and it is deep enough to hold fan of the genre for quite some time, at least if you just ignore the campaign and dive into free roam. I have another question for you. Did you really like Freelancer? I mean really like it? For fans of the genre or those who need their space fix, this is an obvious must have. All others may just want to wait until the eventual Elite and Star Citizen release however dismal they seem.
