I like Smugglers V: Invasion; however , the game does have some problems that need addressing. Smugglers V: Invasion is a 2d space trading game where you need to get better ships and equipment . In addition, there is an alien force trying to take over the galaxy. In theory it is a good game and is somewhat interesting. However, the game does have its issues: 1. It is just too hard. I have to keep reloading. I strongly suggest that they need a handicap mode or easy mode where more AP points become available. 2. There are a number of sectors in the game. Sadly, unless we go immediately to where the battles are occurring , the alien force will take over too much of the galaxy. However, we are too weak to go to those sectors to start off with. It is a catch-22. WE can't just stay in our original area and build up our ship until we are ready,which again adds to the toughness of the game. 3. IN order to win the game, we need to defeat the alien force in each sector. This is accomplished by primarily doing missions and , to a lesser extent, buying war bonds. Also, there usually are at least two sectors under attack. The problem is that there is no graph or way to determine how far along we are in winning the sector. We have to stay there till we get a message that our federation won the battle there and the aliens have retreated. 4. For each group , there are only 8 choices in ships, which comprise four fighting ships and four freighters. Each ship gets 5-6 equipment items with 4-5 choices This may sound like a lot of choices,but believe me it is too limited. 5. Skills are used in battle. Sadly, there are only about 6-10 skills that players primarily use out of dozens available..However, the skills pop up at random and there is little way to control which skills we want. Thus, if we want to board a ship, we won't be able to do that unless the boarding icon randomly pops up in our skill bar. Did I like the game Yes... sort of. However, I had to use a cheat to survive.
Wizardry 8 is an old school dungeon crawl, with lots of complex mazes. While there is an automap, it isn't always useful in a 3d environment. My main problem with the game is the game balance. Mobs have huge advantages that the players don't have once you get out of the first dungeon. For example, a group of magicians are almost unbeatable. Their spells seem to do a lot more damage AND they have a range that greatly exceeds that of the players. Even worse, they can do damage through rocks and other solid items that players, which isn't available to the players, and I am playing it on easy mode! If you can get past this, the game is enjoyable.
This is a great game. I would have given it a five start normally,HOWEVER, it does crash when using Vista. GOG needs to fix this.
