Unmechanical provides highly rewarding and inventive gameplay. The world is fully imagined and beautiful. It lends itself to replay. But it's just too short. Just as I felt I was getting a grip on the storyline, and as I was most immersed in the game, it ended. This does avoid the pitfall of making a game too long, but a 5-star game developer knows how to balance length and interest. This was incredibly close to 5 stars, but there should be more. More characterization, more story, more gameplay, more crazy puzzling.
Darkstar One was a great game when I first got into it. I liked the ability to upgrade my ship and choose how I wanted to interact with objects in space: did I want to be a pirate, a trader, a mercenary, a bounty hunter? Or some combination of them? The graphics are good. Some of the star systems are really breathtaking, and the spacecraft are well-imagined. The game play mechanics are solid and the interface intuitive. Ultimately, there is not enough variety in game play to make the game worthwhile. I explored probably more than two-thirds of the game map, and after that I was simply done. I had played the game enough to satisfy my desire for it. It's a shame that the game's mechanics eventually overshadowed the story line and everything else. I even got to the point where I wouldn't pay attention to a new star system when I arrived. I was so swallowed up in the monotony of the game that my favorite parts of it completely lacked all luster. Lots of good in Darkstar One, but not enough.
I am astounded by this title. I've read most of the other reviews here, and I just want to add two cents, or so. In some ways, the gameplay is a bit repetitive in that there are limited kinds of tasks to accomplish, but the difficulty continues to ramp up as you move through the story, so though you might be trying to accomplish the same task again, it becomes more difficult, usually because there are more guards that have learned to fight better. This game is my introduction to the series, so when I see someone rating it lower because it doesn't compare to what came after, I'm pleased. If these people are correct, this series will continue to get better. So buy this, and enjoy it knowing that you're in for more assassination goodness later on down the line.
