The developers have taken an old genre (RTS) and a highly saturated game theme (zombie apocalypse) and created something unique and thoroughly enjoyable. The graphics are very beautiful and very much add to my enjoyment of this game. The interface is clean & refined. There's convenient keyboard shortcuts for all the actions you commonly use. This is a hardcore RTS. I've seen lots of casual/console gamers complaining about this game. It's simply not designed for them. If you're a long time PC gamer and you've played & enjoyed games like Age of Empires & Red Alert, this game is for you. If you mostly play on games consoles for some quick and colourful instant gratification, this game probably isn't you. I haven't particularly enjoyed the campaign so far, but I absolutely love the survival mode and have played it for over 100 hours. The custom game engine it uses is impressive. The title of this game is fitting. I've never previously played a game with so many active units on screen at once.
I've played Imperium Galactica and Sins of a Solar Empire. I had fun in both. Both games give you a sense of the big picture so you can learn the environment and get control of it. You can plan and strategize. I'm really struggling to get into this Starpoint game. I don't know if it's just that my expectations are wrong, but I am struggling to get a sense of understanding of the game mechanics and thus I don't feel in control. It feels more like an adventure game where you are guided around and given only the illusion of control. I am also finding control of the ships to not be satisfying at all. For some reason I am not getting a sense of weight and inertia. It doesn't feel like the ships are in space. It feels like I'm moving 3D models around with some constraints. The camera system is also awkward and not satisfying. When I get into a battle, I don't feel like I'm fighting enemy ships, I feel like I'm fighting the controls. This game is visually beautiful and the interface has a nice design. I want to like this game, but I just can't get into it. There seem to be lots of people who do like this game, so maybe it's just that this game isn't for me. If they provide a demo, my suggestion would be to try it before you buy it.
I don't know why I tried this game and I don't think I even fully understand why I completed it. What I do know is that it was one of my best gaming experiences from beginning to end. This is why I think it was so enjoyable: - The developers really embraced the medium. It's not just a collection of cut-scenes. It doesn't want to be a movie. The whole adventure is playable. Everything in the game is game-ified. - There are multiple types of game within this game and they're all fun. The fighting, driving, mini-games and exploring is all fun. - It's a linear story with an open world feel. This works really well. Because it's not truly open-world, the devs haven't had to spend hours grinding out content. They have focused on making the content that is there, pleasant and fun. You don't have to hunt for something great in the environment. The whole game is great. - There's an excellent photography sub-game within this game. It forces you to observe and connect with the world around you. It adds another level of depth to every part of the world you are in. It satisfies the common-human desire to "collect" (you collect pictures of all the things in a set... I'm trying not to give anything away). - The characters are very alive and interesting. This game may not look like something you would enjoy. I recommend you try it anyway.
