Space Trader
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Space Trader
One of the best indie games of 2008. An innovative and addictive experience.
Independent gaming has always been the source of true gaming innovation on the PC, but for a long time the PC just did not seem to be the system to play the best new games on, that honor went to consoles. But lately we have been seeing more and more incredible and innovative games from independent and small development houses. In steps Hermitworks Entertainment, the developer of Space Trader and Meridian4 who are developing one of my top 10 games this year (2008). In the far future, everything is ruled by the Ministry of Accounts, evil bureaucrats who tax everything from buying, selling, breathing to walking your dog probably.
As indie titles go Space Trader is one of those games which gives you the gamer plenty of bang for your buck offering solid gameplay mixed with three fun genres combining together, a first person shooter, adventure game and a Stock Ticker simulation which is a completely addictive gaming experience. Buy and sell commodities, capturing and killing fugitives for bounties, finding hidden stash and dealing with criminals in an attempt to make as much money as possible. Compete against your friends over the internet in a Co-op competition or work together to bring down bounties.
As one of the games that truly shows why indie gaming is still the best source of gaming for your PC, this is one of the best examples of a unique concept we have seen in a long time. Space Trader will appeal to both the action gamer and the strategy gamer alike and it will even run on your older PC so no upgrading is required.
Gameplay
Space Trader is a game that does not fit into a simple genre by definition, in-fact it touches several different genres from First Person Shooters, Adventure Games and a Stock Market and Commodity Trading simulator. The FPS side of things is fairly standard with a basic and general gameplay you will recognize if you have played any FPS in the last 16 years where you hunt down bounties given to you by various Non Playable Character’s (NPC), the Role Playing is part of the story basically has you selling your services and abilities to various NPC’s, choices on how you do things and who you work with and the Stock Market game is an advanced version of the game Stock Ticker. Buy low and sell high is the name of the game.
As you play the FPS side of things you are give just a couple of chances to capture or kill the bounty while fighting off his or her henchmen and you will also need to search for hidden stash which you can sell, find health and shield boosts all the while keeping track of where the enemy are. While the overall levels you will run around are few, you will see the same one several times, but it is not bad as the overall bounty hunting is very fun.
The stock market side of things is amazing and it is wise to keep track of where commodities are, how much they buy and sell for on average because this is the quickest and easiest way to make money. By selling everything from food, cotton, electronics, human organs, narcotics, gems, precious metals and much more this side of the game is very interesting and can be exciting.
The multiplayer is basically the single player but with your friends, it works but in the long run it does not seem to be as fun as the single player game is because constant communication is required on where you want to go, where you are going and the like. Multiplayer is a good concept here, but flawed and unfinished.
Graphics
If this was an AAA title I would be ripping it for not giving us gamers a better looking game, but as an indie title the graphics are decent, even above average compared to what we have seen in fully 3D indie titles created by other teams. Honestly regarding the graphics as I played the game and found my self getting deeper into the gameplay I did not even care about the graphics or their quality as the actual gameplay was amazingly addictive and fun. If more game developers would realize this and stop trying to make the best looking game and release a title with solid gameplay their games would be more memorable.
While the character models, level design, textures and even special effects are of a medium or even low quality, depending on your gaming standards, the other graphics in the game such as the map screen and user interface are nicely clean and easy to navigate. On a LCD monitor at low resolutions, such as 640x480 and 800x600 the game’s text is impossible to read, something I never noticed in other games, but you would only have to run the game at those low resolutions if your PC was made in the Clinton era.
Audio
Overall the audio is good, but it could have been much better, from the music sound track, sound effects and the voice over work is average. I would have preferred a stronger sound track, except for the title music which is excellent and the sound effects are fairly standard. What little voice over work there is in the game, this is an indie title after all, is average like I said, but unlike other indie titles with weak voice over work, this one has a stronger voice track then most indie titles, which does help the game at times.
Value
The multiplayer side of the game is fun, but seems to be missing out on the fun factor of the single player game, but for the inexpensive cost and decent length of gameplay the single player value is fairly high and worthwhile.
Bottom Line
This game is part FPS, adventure game and a virtual stock market game. I was impressed by how each aspect of the game works within the core game, and while the game could be a bit more solid in graphics, audio, basically making it more esthetically pleasing. Addictive, very fun and innovative are the best words to describe the game and the bottom line is this is a welcome addition to any gamer’s library so buy this game and enjoy it, I know I did.Pros
+ Decent graphics for an indie title, but far from an AAA title in graphical quality
+ Audio is good
+ Fun concept, unique and once you get into the game it is amazing how much time you will sink into the game
+ Smart design for gameplay makes it quick for completing tasks
+ Co-op multiplayer with up to 7 players to battle for the high score and fight together for bounties
+ Gameplay is very good
Cons
- Game is actually fairly difficult if you do not pay attention
- Does not fit into a general genre so it is a very difficult game to place which may scare people away
- Multiplayer is not very fun and is flawed
- Voice overs are not good
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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