Darkstar One

Darkstar One takes a different approach to configuring your ship than other space sims. In this one, you level it up by collecting what are essentially powerups in space. The game isn't bad, but it tried to be a better Freelancer, and didn't do that. Overall, I like the game. 6/10.

I bought this game as I loved Freelancer first. Freelancer had its ups & downs and I didn't expect Darkstar to be waaaay better. It would be nice however to replicate what was good in Freelancer and avoid the flaws. This was ALMOST accomplished. The good: Darkstar looks better that Freelancer. The galaxy looks less goomy - it's more colorfull & even... optimistic :). User interface is more friendly and simply nicer, more polished. Steering is (I fly on keyboard + mouse) similar to Freelancer, but thanks to some minor improvements - better. Trading is simpler - also thanks to better organized information on the GUI. Dogfights are fast & look great. The ambivalent: There is only one ship... Yes You can upgrade it much like You would in a RPG game, but in my opinion this simply becomes boring. Saving money for a beautiful, new ship is a must in such games (IMHO). There is also quite limited number of weapon choices. Weapon have grades (standard, military, elite), but You basically fly with the same type of guns from the very beginning. This is not fun. Freelancer got it better. The bad: There is not much to explore really... In Freelancer each system had its secrets. A secret pirate base, a secret station, a secret wormhole to another system, a secret shipwreck with some goodies... In Darkstar the only secret You get a secret pirate hideout.... which is visible on Your target list. Yes... that IS very secret... Travel system is also somewhat boring. In Darkstar You only have normal speed (+thruster) and a hyperspace jump. In Freelancer You had normal speed (+ thruster), cruise speed, tradelanes and finally - hyperspace jumps. This solution also meant that there was actually a point in traveling around a system, discovering all it has to offer. In Darkstar - each system has basically the same - a trade station, a research station (you rarely can dock to it) and... that it. Occasionally You get pirate hideouts or giant asteroids (with an artifact in them). Nevertheless - not much to explore. All in all - Darkstar is a good game. It will give You good fun a couple of hours, while following the storyline. Maybe You will depart from the storyline for a minute to do some trading or fighting with pirates, but as it's boring in the long run - You will return to the storyline. I would love a mixture of Darkstar and Freelancer. perhaps with something more, like the ability to land on planets (not via docking rings, which suck ;) ). At the price GOG sells it - Darkstar is a great but though.

As long as you have that expectation going in, I think it's a great game. Yes, the missions are repetitive and the storyline isn't really anything to write home about, but that's not what this game is about. I've seen lots of comparisons between this and other games (Freelancer, X3, etc...). The game it reminds me of most is Star Wars Galaxies:Jump to Lightspeed (aka the "space game"). Similar controls, similar types of missions. No multiplayer, space in SWG was pretty empty in most worlds, too. You get to explore, blow stuff up, find "secret stuff" - read the station news, and upgrade your ship in various ways - maneuverability, lots of pilot controlled weapons, lots of turrets, or a mixture of the above. That alone should give the game quite a bit of replay value. The default difficulty is one on a scale to five. I started with that, got a turret, played through a few clusters. I restarted on level 3 and am focusing on wings (maneuverability and forward guns). The game is much more challenging and fun now that I can't faceroll my way through everything. I may try another playthrough focusing on turrets or just engine upgrades. I've also read about the enemies 'autoscaling' to your ship level. All I know is I tried going ahead without upgraded and got clobbered hard, so maybe it's a bit of you needing to upgrade to them, and them adapting to your upgrades *shrug*. Anyway, bottom line is it's a really fun free flight shooter that doesn't really try to be anything else (yes, you can trade, but there are MUCH better games for that). If you can catch on sale it would be a steal. I paid full price and am still very happy with the game.

This is a fun game. It is not as "realistic" as Descent: Freespace, but it is meant to be FUN. There are a multitude of ship upgrades, and you get to pick your path. You have one ship, and it evolves and upgrades. You get different types of weapons. The game is a little linear, but that gives a clear path. Some missions are exceptionally challenging (check out YouTube videos for some hints). One of my favorite games. If your time is limited, this is easy to pick up and play a while. If you like to spend a hundred hours just to learn how to play a game, keep looking. If you want to jump right in and get going, this is for you. And me.

I guess Independence War has ruined me on space sims (other than Freespace 2, which is still awesome), because I can't stand them when their flight model is more arcade than sim. DarkStar One is fun in most other ways, though - good ship upgrades, simple but profitable economy, and a story that, while by no means original, does a good job of nudging you along into each new region of space. And its flight model, while hard for me to bear, is leagues better than Freelancer's, so I guess that counts for something.