Hope you like dogfighting with space pirates, because you'll be doing a lot of it here.Īs with all space traders, the story revolves around a man of mystery with a brand-new spaceship, enigmatic aliens on the attack, and a few dozen planets producing merchandise you can haul around the galaxy to make a few bucks. It comes with a few minor problems in the fit-and-finish department, but the game is still an outstanding return to the frontier spirit that made Elite so memorable. This game "gets" the template of 1985's Commodore 64 classic Elite in a way that many other space-trading games released over the past decade or so didn't, thanks to its emphasis on the mid-'80s classic's simple principles of buying low, selling high, and blasting pirates for fun and profit. While other games have practically beaten players senseless with the complicated economics of buying and selling futuristic space-goods, the developers of DarkStar One apparently realized that some of us just want to be Han Solo. It may lack the longevity of other space-trading games, but nonetheless it looks super and should keep you entertained until winter is upon us."Keep it simple, stupid" isn't a credo that space-sim developers have subscribed to over the years. There’s no real originality here, but that doesn’t stop it being fun. Conversely, with an economic model that doesn’t require an apprenticeship at the Adam Smith Institute, trading is actually fun.ĭarkStar One is a worthy attempt to keep the Elite genre alive and, despite the lack of online play, it’s an addictive game that will see you flying your trusted ship across the cosmos into the wee small hours for a good while. But with only a limited number of environments and voice messages, the novelty wanes faster than it might do with other, more complex space operas. The game manages to strike a balance between having enough of a plot to keep you playing and being sufficiently open-ended that you don’t feel you’re being spoon-fed. There’s no doubt that DarkStar One is a rough diamond, but it’s shiny enough that you’ll excuse aspects such as the predictably bad in-game dialogue delivery. The standard routes to wealth and prosperity are available: interplanetary trading, bounty hunting, simple escort missions and, of course, you can sail close to the wind by assuming the life of a pirate. Moving the cursor round the screen directs the ship, while the throttle level is driven by the mouse wheel.Īs far as non-linear progression is concerned, there’s nothing new. The control interface is designed to be simple, so almost everything is mouse driven. However, you’re under no obligation to take on these side quests.
#Darkstar one gameplay upgrade
There are even bonus missions that will unlock some hitherto secret out-of-the-way sector, usually containing one of the alien artefacts required to upgrade your ship. But on almost every system are a range of sub-missions, from hunting down a wanted criminal to “liberating” some cargo from its current owner, that will give you extra cash and change both your alignment and reputation, which, in turn, will affect how other races and systems deal with you.
The game follows a linear path as you pursue leads to solve the riddle of your father’s death.
As the ship evolves, both its looks and flight characteristics change to reflect the new abilities. So rather than having to buy a new ship every so often, you can stick with the one you’ve got, upgrading weapons, engine size or hull capacity. His bequest to his son is a rather splendid ship – DarkStar One – fashioned from alien technology and possessing the ability to evolve. As you progressed, you bought bigger and better weapons and various other ship upgrades.ĭarkStar One takes this same formula and follows the exploits of Kayron Jarvis, a young pilot whose father dies in a space dogfight. You started off with an old jalopy – replete with small cargo hold and the space equivalent of a peashooter – with 100 credits in your pocket and you made your fortune flying from planet to planet, indulging in piracy, bounty hunting and/or trading, while every so often defending yourself against an aggressive horde of alien invaders called the Thargoids. The game borrows heavily from the 1980s microcomputing classic Elite, which was a game with almost no plot.
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