Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos Review

Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos
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Stunning. Beautiful. Can I fall in love with a computer game? Maybe not, but if I could this would be it. Wow. Hard core gamers rejoice, the techonology and graphics available today has allowed the space sim genre to truly blast towards the heavens. I've only just begun the game, but I'm speechless. I'm leaving work early to get back to it... I never do that, after all, they're just computer games. But this is... this reminds me of the joy I had as a junior-high student playing Wing Commander I and II. The story is well done and immersive, if not stunningly original: your father is murdered by a loan shark and your left in the hands of an "electronic guardian", ala Max Headroom (sp). The guardian takes you to your (also dead) grandmother's old pirate base, hidden deep within a nebula gas cloud where you discover her old warship and... well, you begin to live the life of a pirate while questing for the revenge of your father's murder. But let's get back to what's important. This is a hardcore gamers delight. The physics are detailed and you'll have to learn to deal with inertial trajectories as you dogfight, but you can also use them to your advantage for some wicked strafing moves. Additionally, you can utilize thrusters to suddenly push your ship up/down or left/right while otherwise maintaining an idential course and heading. The weapons systems are detailed, primarily focused around energy/cannon weapons and missles. I've only begun to explore the customization options available, but it looks like you've got tremendous flexibility to modify your ship as additional resources become available to you, including propulsion, fuel cells, targetting, shields, countermeasures, active and passive sensors, etc. The combat is -very- difficult at first and you're going to get killed... a lot. Suck it up, enjoy it. Your skills will be pushed more than they've been by most of the space sims that have been cranked out in the last few years. The graphics are... well, beautiful. The in-game level of detail is incredible, accomplished through a nice balance of polygon-count and texturing. Smooth and seamless, I have yet to encounter a single stutter in the action. Similarly, the sound is fantastically well done, adding a great immersive factor to the game that truly draws you in. A subwoofer if a definite must to appreciate this game. Only problem here: you'll need the latest drivers and make sure you've installed Microsoft's codec, something you'll need for smooth voice playback. Without it, speech becomes choppy and bothersome. A joystick is also a must. They say you can use the keyboard, but don't believe it. The action can be simply brutal and if you don't have full and instant control, you're toast. A hatstick is also a highly recommended option for the joystick, as the in-flight command menu makes liberal and heavy usage of it, but also allows for a surprisingly intuitive (and ingenious) interface not only inflight but also at base and working through the game's techinical menus/screens, almost making the mouse obsolete. You quite simply must buy this game if you're into simulations and miss the challenge of the old flight/space sims. This may very well wind up a contender for GOTY--I was right about Deus Ex, maybe I'm right about this. Don't miss it! This is the first 5-star rating I've given to a game in over a year!!! Reviewed on a P3 800/Coppermine, SB Live! Value, Hercules GeForce2 GTS/Pro, and 256 Meg of Ram at PC133.

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In Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos, you command four futuristic battle cruisers and a band of revolutionary pirates in an all-consuming battle against impossible odds. The setting is the Badlands cluster, 100 years after the first Independence War. Corporations killed your father for a bad debt, and you've spent 15 years rotting in jail for trying to get justice. Now it's time for vengeance. Turn back the corporations before they corrupt the entire universe.
Independence War 2 features an innovative user-friendly interface--90 percent of the functions can be programmed on the joystick, keyboard, or both. Get online multiplayer support for up to eight people. Play deathmatch, capture the flag, and various other unique scenarios. This game utilizes the revolutionary Flux graphics engine, is Microsoft Direct3D compatible, has surface effects such as rust, decay, and wear on the ships, and features stunning fire and flare effects. All ships in the game are modeled using the textures and details from the ships created for the CGI movies, and use a Newtonian mechanics simulation, moving according to the same rules as real spacecraft. This includes a simulation of both linear and angular momentum, inertia, and rotational moment of inertia. Ships can use either a free-flight mode or use computer-assisted fly-by-wire flight controls.
Team up against the enemy with detachable fighters. Keep them onboard as murderous gun turrets or order them to attack as wingmen. Nonlinear gameplay spans 16 star systems. Interact with dynamically created space traffic. Command four flyable ships and more than 30 weapons and ship accessories that you can use in near-infinite combinations. Get to know the locals, including taxicab ships, freighters, space patrols, and pirates. Watch the space opera unfold through a rich story line in four acts.

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