X3: Terran War Pack

Wow didn't expect to see this on GOG, didn't really need to buy it again, but couldn't resist having it DRM free. X3 Terran Conflict and the excellent add on Albion Prelude are two games I hold in high regard. On Steam I have 500 hours in Terran Conflict, who knows how many I had on the box copy, and on Albion Prelude over 1300 hours. I'm not going to say it's better than Elite: Dangerous since I really like that one too, but it is a different experience. Unlike Elite, these games go to the next level with empire building. Play long enough and you'll be flying capital ships, commanding other capital ships, and eventually building your own ships. Imagine having a sector setup with a sprawling complex cranking out shields, weapons, drones, laser towers, with a fleet of transports taking those goods to a sector next door with your shipyard. There is no limit on the amount of ships you can own. There is something satisfying early in the game when the pilot you're attacking bails out, leaving a ship that's damaged but all yours. You can hit the CTRL key in your space suit to activate a repair laser which is more than enough to get smaller fighters up and running again. If you're new to the series and bought the whole pack with all the games then I recommend you just play the campaigns of all the earlier titles for the story. Save your sand boxing and empire building for Albion Prelude, that is the jewel of the series. Build that fleet, become a billionaire, train your marines, capture some ships. After a hundred hours or so you'll get bored, then you'll want to try the Poisoned Paranid start and see if you can get that Hyperion Vanguard before your character dies. After that do a search for the XRM mod and XTC mods which are two complete game conversions that will breath fresh life into Albion Prelude. Since these titles are older I'm able to get decent frame rates out of my travel laptop which is just a weak AMD A4 5000.

This game with an added procedurally generated universe is basically what Elite: Dangerous should have been, but never was. It's deep, it's immersive, it's got tons of different playstyles and challenges, for a good while this was (and to a degree - still is) an ultimate space sandbox game. You can build and manage an entire carrier strike force, cruiser fleet. Or choose completely different route and dominate the galaxy with your trade fleet, rising billions and managing an entire empire of trade. Or choose even a different route than that and grow an enormous factories, supplying entire empires in everything, from weapons, through food, down to electricity. Flaws? Well, combat (especially turrets) AI isn't on a bright side (look for a mod that's fixing it), galaxy isn't procedurally generated, so after 500 hours you might get bored, and finally: It's an enormous time sink, there's always something to do, somewhere to go, it's nothing like Elite when one route takes 15 minutes to an hour of doing nothing - here if you choose to do something - you can get right on it, which means that it's difficult to get out from in front of the screen. You like space games? Buy this. NOW.

I purchased this game off Steam in April 2014 and haven't regretted it. This review is based on Albion Prelude as it is the only version I've played. Think EVE Online but without the trolls and single player only. YOU decide what you want to do. The NPCs either leave you alone, or come at you, and that decision is based purely on your standings. Why do I class this as an RTS and Open World? Well, in this game you can do whatever you want, however you want, whenever you want. How you interact with the other factions of the game is the RTS element. There are several starting points in the game which you pick at game start up. I typically start as Humble Merchant and build my empire based on money, economics and infrastructure, and not worry about a plot line, however, you can also play a military plot and have a decent ship on day one. One downfall of this game is the "save game" mechanism. You're given save slots to save your game to, and only 10 at that (Well, 13, but 3 are auto-save slots). If you plan on changing 'careers', you'll probably want to move your existing saves out somewhere else, or, use a single slot for each career. There are times you might want to backpedal a few saves, but I guess that just adds to the RTS aspect and decision making. I don't consider this a negative in my rating, just something to be aware of. Graphics are breath taking at times. The ships sometimes look like they could be very real. The audio is well done when it comes to hearing things be shot at, and hearing things blow up. Most of the game can be played through just the keyboard, but mouse activities are needed for controlling extremely agile ships. If you like space shoot-em-ups, or you like economical games, or you like empire building games, the entire package is worth the $10-$20. Replay value is limited at the start (Which game isn't?) but once you get a foothold in the universe, it is different EVERY time because YOU can make it different every time.

I will make this brief. X3 is incredible. Massive (like, seriously humongous) universe, endless places to go and things to do. Fight, explore, trade, mine. Buy a fleet of capital ships and conquer the galaxy. Not exactly a plot-heavy game, but there is an interesting underlying story. This is definitely a "sandbox" game, in the best way possible. You are free to take whatever path you like, or no path at all. Fly any ship in the game, from traders to cruisers to battleships. Graphics are pretty, laser blasts are satisfyingly bright, the Universe feels alive. Fair warning, this game is definitely a time sink. It does, however, play excellently on a keyboard and mouse. Joystick is nice, but in no way necessary to enjoy the game. If you like open worlds, flight sims, or sandbox games (Mount and Blade style), you NEED this game. It will suck your life away, and you'll not regret a moment of it.