Gambit
02-08-2005, 07:40 PM
I recently got a free subscription to CGW with something or other. Got the second edition a few weeks ago with a demo of Star Wars: Republic Commando and Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. (What is it with subtitles, anyway?)
Commando: A first-person squad shooter. Kind of an interesting concept. Something about the implementation turned me off a bit, though. Basically it's like playing Half-Life with three "barneys" helping, and you have a little more control over the barneys. If there's a special task or spot (sniper nest, turret, grenade hideout, wall demolition, computer hacking), it's highlighted on your hud and you can do the task yourself, or order it to be done by one of your squadmates. And if you (or they) die, they're only mostly dead - a little love from a medpack used by a squaddie will put the fallen back into action. I played this demo once through, and it was enough. I'm not telling you it's a bad game; just that I didn't like something about it.
Nexus: Like your games complex? This one's for you. It's a real-time tactical space fleet game. Very cinematic and pretty game, and fully 3-D like the Homeworld games. Control multiple ships, and when I say control I don't mean click on them and say "shoot this" or "move here." Though you can do that. For example, you can allocate energy between various systems and give different guns different targets to shoot, if you care to do so. And you have a whole fleet, and modular space stations, to control. I've played this demo once so far and was totally overwhelmed - but then I didn't read any docs, either. Couldn't even figure out how to exit. :) Could be an awesome game, or it could be needlessly confusing. Did I mention the graphics were nice?
Commando: A first-person squad shooter. Kind of an interesting concept. Something about the implementation turned me off a bit, though. Basically it's like playing Half-Life with three "barneys" helping, and you have a little more control over the barneys. If there's a special task or spot (sniper nest, turret, grenade hideout, wall demolition, computer hacking), it's highlighted on your hud and you can do the task yourself, or order it to be done by one of your squadmates. And if you (or they) die, they're only mostly dead - a little love from a medpack used by a squaddie will put the fallen back into action. I played this demo once through, and it was enough. I'm not telling you it's a bad game; just that I didn't like something about it.
Nexus: Like your games complex? This one's for you. It's a real-time tactical space fleet game. Very cinematic and pretty game, and fully 3-D like the Homeworld games. Control multiple ships, and when I say control I don't mean click on them and say "shoot this" or "move here." Though you can do that. For example, you can allocate energy between various systems and give different guns different targets to shoot, if you care to do so. And you have a whole fleet, and modular space stations, to control. I've played this demo once so far and was totally overwhelmed - but then I didn't read any docs, either. Couldn't even figure out how to exit. :) Could be an awesome game, or it could be needlessly confusing. Did I mention the graphics were nice?