Rebel Galaxy

Rebel Galaxy is one of the more fun-focused, arcade-y space tradey, zappy-laser combat sims out there. It's very much a pick-up-and-play experience, and you won't be punished for putting it aside and forgetting how to control your ship. The soundtrack is fantastic, full of dirty blues rock and hard country songs that set a wonderful tone, although there aren't quite enough songs to fill the many hours you're likely to spend playing. Although some people make a big deal out of it, I didn't find the single plane of movement to be a major hindrance - it appears to me simply a design choice motivated to facilitate the broadside-focused combat. And while it's lighter on the simulation side of things than say, EVE, or Elite: Dangerous, or the Starpoint series, the concessions it makes help it avoid some of the frustrations inherent to those games. You may occasionally find the challenge plateauing, and that's when you can feel the grind, but most of the time there's enough of a sense of purpose in the story to keep you involved. Also, the ability to interact with and change the various scenarios that may affect a space station or outpost - for instance, by intercepting an invasion force, or robbing a treasure ship packed with alien artefacts - makes the world feel delightfully alive. Rebel Galaxy is loaded with personality whilst still retaining the features and feel of what makes the space-exploration-combat-trade games so entertaining. If you're looking for a hardcore space sim, I'd look elsewhere, but for those not interested in having to memorise an actual flight manual in order to learn how to play, this might be the one for you.

Grab it for free during this summer sales and have fun, its 2D space battles remind me of naval battles on the sea (your cannons are on the ship side so you have to turn it 90 degrees instead of going head-to-head, unfortunately you don't have a crew and you cannot board the enemy ship like a real pirate ship but hey it's ok anyway) and the rock soundtrack is absolutely awesome.

I was searching for a replacement for Privateer 2, this finally was the game I was looking for! It's not fancy dogfighting (kind of 2.5D) but trading, missions, everything I was looking for in a game for year. One might say the story is a bit short, but I think it was is a fine story and it is wrapped in a nice game!

I recieved this game free as part of the Summer Sale free game deal. After putting 20+ hours into it, I realized I purchased it on steam and never played it (doh). The game is fun to play, especially if you like space battles in a more simplistc form than a flight sim. It's played on a 2D plane, so you can't move "up" or "down". Just along the XY axis. At first it was a little offputting, but once I got used to it I started to enjoy the action more. Space battles start with a few ships in a "dogfight". Later battles can have 30+ ships ranging from fighters and frigates all the way up to dreadnaughts. Those are the best battles, with missles and lasers everywhere. The graphics are great, with each ship having it's unique feel and look. The battles can be crazy busy and beautiful, which enhances the whole experience. That being said, combat can range from "laughably easy" or "balls hard" within a small time frame of playing. The story is non existent. Literally, it is just a bare excuse to play. If this was any other game, it would be something of a small side mission. But whatever, it was alot of fun getting to the end. By then, I had the best ship, and mostly all the best weapons (just didn't feel like spending more time making money to buy them). So maybe it's my fault that the last battle was so disappointing, because it was easier and quicker than any other battle I'd done in the previous 5 hours, getting to the end. All in all, I invested 30+ hours into doing everything except hunt down the time intensive achievements. I had fun with the whole deal, but I just wish there was more of a challenge at the end.

Having reached the end, I think I'm ready to review. Graphics, sound, controls, all excellent. Two dimensional ship control while fighters have three, is frustrating. However, combat is designed for broadside old warship style stuff, which is made much easier by keeping it 2D. Combat can be easy or infuriatingly difficult. It seems there are very few in-between battles. Controls for telling escorts to withdraw would've been a nice addition. The story; good, but lacking. The main story arc ends up leaving you feeling a little Mass Effect 3. Not sure I even want to play through again. Side story arcs would help in the replayability.