It is very rare I am truly impressed with a game. When buying this game, I was not expecting anything special, and quite frankly, did not interest me in the slightest. Until the sale. I am simply blown away - the very first thing I noticed was the very beautiful graphics. Extreme care is taken, and every now again just have to stand around and take in the sights. As for the gameplay, I cannot be happier. The battle system is a little wonky. UI is slightly confusing. Other than that, this game gets an A+ from me.
It was so refreshing being able to get this game (along with Savage Empire and Ultima VI) without having to visit shady abandonware web sites or other questionable means. When I got my first PC with my own cash money around 1991, these were the games I bought. I spent untold hours on these games, and this game in particular blew me away with the very compelling storyline. The game was not easy to finish, either, because I had to use a few brain cells to piece things together. At first, I did not think the game would be that great when I first bought it, because a trip to Mars did not appear to make great story fodder. I was wrong. I do not want to say anymore to spoil the game, but trust me, the mixture of historical and Lord British's characters made this game all worth it. Again, the storyline is NOT cheesy and cliched. Some thought was put into it. If this were a book, I would have read it. Give this a try - you will like it.
TL;DR - Get this game. Now. It is worth it. It took me a while to fire up this game after I purchased it, but once I started it, I cannot stop playing it. The story, while cheesy at times, one cannot help but fall in love with the characters. It is paced well enough I want to grind through battles to see how the story unfolds. So far, it has been a delight. The use of those crystals is a clever concept. It reminded me of Final Fantasy games of old, but unique enough it does not feel like a rip-off. This is definitely unique indeed. Oh, but it does take some patience to understand all the concepts and lining up strategies. Which is a good thing. I cannot wait to see the other games in the series. The price is right too. The biggest downsides is the wonky default controls, camera and below-par graphics. To be honest, I have no issue with the graphics. I grew up playing Atari 2600. It's all about the gameplay and what it has to offer, and this offers plenty.
