![]() ![]() The major problem with DarkStar One is a problem inherent with any game that takes place primarily in space. Your ship can also be morphed and upgraded by finding artifacts in nearby space.Īll of this sounds good, and for the most part, it is. You do this by spending money you earn on missions and from destroying pirates. This ship can be constantly upgraded to facilitate new weapons systems, armor, and all sorts of doodads and knickknacks. You're fighting in a very special starfighter called the DarkStar One, a gift to you from your late father. You'll travel from planet to planet trying to find work, trade items, follow mysteries, all the while fighting off pirates. The main gameplay is about dogfighting in space. However, that doesn't mean you'll spend all of your time clicking random objects. Whether you'll enjoy it is another matter entirely.Īt its heart, DarkStar One is an adventure game in space. You'll never find anything else like it on this system. Posterity alone is a good enough reason to check out this game, which is so utterly unique in the Xbox 360 library. The space dog-fighting and adventuring genre that was so popular back then with games like Freelancer has long since died out, and its legacy forgotten by all but the most dedicated PC gamers.įast forward to 2010, and the Xbox 360 library contains not a single entry in this genre until DarkStar One was released. There's not been much of a spring clean here, and the conversion smacks a little of a publisher jumping on some suddenly ownerless IP.Playing DarkStar One: Broken Alliance is like opening up a time capsule from 2003-4 planted by the PC gaming community. The aforementioned voice acting and cinema remains, as does a slightly awkward control scheme which sees roll control and thrust stymied somewhat by poor mapping and over-simplification respectively. Yes, the graphics have been updated to a crisp 1080p, but essentially the game remains completely unchanged in any other way. (Purely because of the simplicity of control, you understand.) So, four years after its release, Kalypso has done just that with this Xbox 360 version - and to the great pleasure of some and the endless frustration of others, that's all they've really done. Intergalactic, planetary! Sorry.īecause DarkStar One takes a decidedly less heavyweight approach to the genre than titles such as X3 or Elite itself, it's an excellent candidate for conversion to console. ![]() There's some background jazz about collecting organic artefacts to up the DarkStar's capacities, too. Cue calumny, intrigue and betrayal - and a lot of explosions. The plot, which actually develops in a more interesting way than it sounds like it might, begins with hero Kayron jetting off in a prototype spaceship in an attempt to avenge the untimely death of his father. Combat is fast, responsive and carefree, with a concern for energy reserves and more advanced ship management only really becoming an issue once pilots have found their feet. Unlike Elite, it's all pretty straightforward, with arcade flight controls, a simple HUD and a relatively limited trade aspect. Like Elite, players have a choice in how to conduct themselves in a violent, futuristic section of the Milky Way, choosing to pursue a career as a bounty hunter, trader, smuggler, mercenary or straight up murderer. It's a space-shooter, the first person cockpit-view your only portal onto a colourful stellar landscape of nebulae, space hulks and asteroid belts. The most dangerous cathedral in space.īroadly speaking, DarkStar One is an Elite clone, one of the many pretenders to the galactic crown forged for what was probably the first ever open-world title. Back in 2006, the now sadly defunct Ascaron Entertainment released Darkstar One for the PC, where it was swallowed pretty unceremoniously in a swarm of similar space-sims, although Kieron was quite the fan. DarkStar One feels every inch the small-studio PC game, and that's because it once was. For some these will be terms of endearment, a charming lack of corporate polish which bears testament to the game's relatively humble origins for others, they'll be annoyances. It's one of the many little peccadilloes which are likely to divide DarkStar One's potential audience, like the dreadful script delivery or the sometimes stuttering and fuzzy cut-scenes. No matter which far-flung corner of the galaxy you fly to in DarkStar One: Broken Alliance, sooner or later you seem to come across a feisty buccaneer with a strong - some might even say overacted - accent, just waiting to laser open your hold and take away your space monies. They've been busy going to space, apparently, and starting careers in pirate gangs across the galaxy. During the World Cup, whilst the English have been distracted, the Scots have been busy - as have the Irish and the West Indians. ![]()
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