Finally the Borons are back! After the supernova (which changed everything...) we had to wait so long for meeting the friendliest race in the X universe again. This expansion not only offers a new faction but also integrates very nicely into the existing universe by. Like they promised, Egosoft created an immersive expedition to find the long lost Borons. While the other expansion focused a lot on conflict and war this one is about exploration, trading and building. At some point of the story it reminds me of the X:Rebirth DeVries system - in a positive way. The Boron ships and stations are visually stunning and have their very own way of fighting their enemies, utilising ion weapons and engine disruption effects. For people who just want to go into the action I recommend the custom gamestart editor - that way one can shape the starting conditions to the own liking. From adding a small fleet / some stations and define the HQ location there are a lot possibilites. I'm playing this game series since X:Beyond the frontier and I'm especially fond of X² (immersion) / X³:TC (gameplay balancing). Also liked X:Rebirth up to the point that I couldn't fly all the beautiful ships. X4 I consider the pinnacle of the series so far. I'm looking forward for the next steps (minus the online features, I hope they don't drain important resources to evolve the singleplayer game further)
Should have been released right after T2 movie but then again... ...fans of the first 2 movies wouldn't have had a chance to take this trip back the memory lane. For all of us who wanted to visit the scenes of the future which were so briefly shown in the movies this game provides the means to do so. It starts off slowly, but it really gets intensene in the last "chapters". While being not a shiny & polised AAA shooter, it tells a nice linear story while mixing some RPG elements and lots of exploration. RPG is lacking diversity - at the end of the game one can have all the skill trees unlocked. There really should have be some mutual exclusive choices / character paths to keep things interesting / provide reasons for replaying the game. Inventory and crafting is there, but doesn't get into your way (and can be ignored IMHO). There are even some romance characters. Too bad there is no companion mechanic. But there are buddies you can interact with by doing sidequests & one can even try to change their fate. Weapons are fun and there is also a upgrade system for the modern, energy based weapons. They also have their fair share on the atmosphere. It's just awesome watching & hearing the clash of the two armies using plasma weapons within a postapocalyptic city. I just wished there were some T-1000 to use the shotgun against - but the story tells why they aren't present. Only 4 stars because it's kind of short & the rpg elements aren't really fleshed out. Nevertheless, the game is well worth the price. Kudos for releasing it on GOG :)
