Category:Privateer: Righteous Fire: Difference between revisions

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{{infobox Game Landing
{{infobox Game Landing
|name = Privateer: Righteous Fire
|name = Privateer: Righteous Fire
|image = image:rffront.jpg
|image = image:RFBoxforTrans.png
|faction = terran
|faction = terran
|expansion = [[Wing Commander: Privateer]]
|expansion = [[Wing Commander: Privateer]]
Line 13: Line 13:


==Description==
==Description==
[[image:rfback.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Box Back Cover]]


<blockquote>
<blockquote>
Line 43: Line 41:
OPTIMAL: 486/25MHz+, 1 meg video card, joystick and sound board
OPTIMAL: 486/25MHz+, 1 meg video card, joystick and sound board


==Pakaging==
==Packaging==
 
===Release Index===
 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Platform
! Year
! EAN
! UPC
! Region
! Publisher
! Media
! Language
|-
!MS-DOS
|1994
|10026
|0 17814 81311 5
|United States
|Electronic Arts
|3.5" HD diskette (2)
|English
|-
!MS-DOS
|1994
|
|0 17814 81311 5
|Europe
|Electronic Arts
|3.5" HD diskette (2)
|English, trilingual docs
|-
!MS-DOS
|1994
|
|
|Spain
|DROSoft
|3.5" HD diskette (2)
|Spanish, Spanish docs
|-
|}
 
===United States===
 
==== Box Contents ====
 
* (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
* Privateer: Righteous Fire Installation Guide
* Registration Card
 
===Europe===


===Box Contents===
==== Box Contents ====


* (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
* (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
* [[Privateer: Righteous Fire Installation Guide]]
* Privateer: Righteous Fire Installation Guide (Trilingual)
* Strike Commander/Intel Poster
* Registration Card


===Releases===
===Spain===


* United States
==== Box Contents ====
* Europe
 
* Spain
* (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
* Privateer: Righteous Fire Guia De Instalacion
* License Agreement
* Registration Card


==Versions==
==Versions==
Line 61: Line 116:


===Differences===
===Differences===
* The CD-ROM version has recorded speech for all dialogue. In-flight speech included in the original [[Wing Commander Privateer Speech Accessory Pack]] is also replaced with new recordings.
* The armament of the Elite Salthi and Mordecai Jones' Centurion are changed. The CD-ROM replaces the Steltek Guns with Fusion Cannons.


==Strategy Guides==
==Strategy Guides==
Line 77: Line 135:


==Music==
==Music==
Composer Barry Leitch has provided three MIDI files of his music from Righteous Fire:
* [https://download.wcnews.com/music/priv/Privateer_Righteous_Fire_-_Intro.mid Intro]
* [https://download.wcnews.com/music/priv/Privateer_Righteous_Fire_-_Ruined_Temple.mid Temple]
* [https://download.wcnews.com/music/priv/Privateer_Righteous_Fire_-_Temple.mid Ruined Temple]


==Cutscenes==
==Cutscenes==
Line 82: Line 146:
==Ships==
==Ships==


Righteous Fire adds two ships to the game.
Righteous Fire adds one new ship and one new base to the game. It also updates the capabilities of the four player ships and alters the specifications of three others.


{{Navbox Righteous Fire Ships}}
{{Navbox Righteous Fire Ships}}
Line 95: Line 159:


Righteous Fire adds eleven new upgrades to the game.
Righteous Fire adds eleven new upgrades to the game.
<center>
<gallery mode=packed-hover>
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Fusion.PNG|50px|link=Fusion Cannon|Fusion Cannon
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Shield 1.PNG|100px|link=Shield Generator 6|Shield Generator 6
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Shield 1.PNG|100px|link=Shield Generator 7|Shield Generator 7
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Engine 6 - Transparent.png|100px|link=Engine Upgrade 6|Engine Upgrade 6
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Engine 6 - Transparent.png|100px|link=Engine Upgrade 7|Engine Upgrade 7
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Isometal Armor - Transparent.png|100px|link=Isometal Armor|Isometal Armor
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Advanced Droid - Transparent.png|100px|link=Advanced Droid|Advanced Droid
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Gun Cooler - Transparent.png|100px|link=Gun Cooler|Gun Cooler
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Shield Regenerator - Transparent.png|100px|link=Shield Regenerator|Shield Regenerator
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Speed Enhancer - Transparent.png|100px|link=Speed Enhancer|Speed Enhancer
Privateer - Ship Modification Bay - Thrust Enhancer - Transparent.png|100px|link=Thrust Enhancer|Thrust Enhancer
</gallery>
</center>


{{Navbox Righteous Fire Ship Components}}
{{Navbox Righteous Fire Ship Components}}
==Universe==
===Characters===
===Other===


==Credits==
==Credits==
Line 202: Line 288:


{{Navbox Righteous Fire/Developers}}
{{Navbox Righteous Fire/Developers}}
== Fan Mods ==
* [[Test mission for Privateer / Righteous Fire]]
== Behind the Screens ==
===Point of Origin===
February 15, 1994 - [https://download.wcnews.com/files/documents/Point_of_Origin_Vol_4_No_53.pdf Vol. IV, No. 53]
* '''Fiscal Fitness''': "Righteous Fire, originally scheduled to ship this week, will have to hold until next Wednesday (2/23) due to a translation snag in the UK."
May 6, 1994 - [https://download.wcnews.com/files/documents/Point_of_Origin_Vol_4_No_55.pdf Vol. IV, No. 55]
* '''Pulse Check''': "In fact, U8 came in at #2 on Software Etc's March sales charts, following SimCity 2000. On the same chart, Righteous Fire clocked in at #5."
July 15, 1994 - [https://download.wcnews.com/files/documents/Point_of_Origin_Vol_4_No_57.pdf Vol. IV, No. 57]
* '''In Ink''':"Even Righteous Fire is getting in on the act. Al Giovetti writes in Electronic Entertainment, 'A fast-paced trading, combat, pirating space-opera game enhanced by an absorbing plot, involving music and captivating sound effects. The result: pure fun.'"
===Packaging Design===
These digital components and iterations of the Righteous Fire box art were recovered from the Origin files at EA Mythic.
====Typefaces====
<gallery>
PRVlogoforRF.png
EASTBLOKtype.png
RIGHTEOUSFIREltrs1.png
PRVRFLOGOlng4C.png
</gallery>
====Logo====
<gallery>
PRVRFLOGO.png
PRVRFLOGO1.png
PRVRFLOGO4C.png
PRVRFLOGOFULLON.png
RFlogoexp.png
RFLOGOwPYR2.png
RFLOGOwPYR3.png
</gallery>
====Elements====
<gallery>
FIGHTER.png
RFFIGHTERS.png
GASPLANET.png
PLANET.png
NEB.png
NEBULA.png
</gallery>
====Layouts====
<gallery>
rfexp1.png
rfexp2.png
RFArt2.1.png
RFArt2.png
RFArt3.1.png
RFArt3.png
RFBoxforTrans.png
</gallery>
===Jerry Pournelle===
In the December 1998 edition of Computing at Chaos Manor, Jerry Pournelle singled out Righteous Fire as "the single most enjoyable action game [he had] ever played."
<blockquote>
Early on there was a spinoff game called Privateer which used the original Wing Commander engine and some of the original ships, but had a free form universe you could explore until you stumbled across the story line. That was followed by an ad-on scenario called "Righteous Fire" that was the single most enjoyable action game I have ever played. I loved Privateer and Righteous Fire... I still wish they’d simply publish the specs for writing ad on scenarios to the original Privateer, though. If they want to improve the graphics levels, fine, but in fact that was about good enough; and it sure was fun. I can think of a number of stories I could write in that universe.
</blockquote>
* [https://www.jerrypournelle.com/computing/December98.html Original]


== Press ==
== Press ==
Line 233: Line 394:
|91
|91
|3/5
|3/5
|-
!Game Bytes
|Issue 19
|n/a
|None
|-
|-
!Hyper
!Hyper
Line 243: Line 409:
|36-37
|36-37
|85/100
|85/100
|-
!Joystick
|April 1994
|98
|None
|-
|-
!Micromania
!Micromania
Line 313: Line 484:
Electronic_Entertainment_07_Jul_1994_0092.jpg
Electronic_Entertainment_07_Jul_1994_0092.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>
==== Game Bytes ====
<blockquote><tt>
'''RIGHTEOUS FIRE from Origin.'''
''Reviewed by Nigel Slater''
 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Computer&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Graphics&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Memory&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Disk Space<br>
Minimum:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;386/33&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;256 VGA&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4MB&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5MB<br>
Max/Rec:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;486/25&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1MB SVGA<br>
Control:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Joystick, Keyboard, Mouse.<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;Sound:&nbsp;&nbsp;Music&nbsp;&nbsp;= Adlib, Soundblaster, PAS, MIDI<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Speech = Soundblaster, PAS<br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;Notes: Supports DOS 6.0 doublespace. Must own PRIVATEER.
Reviewed version 1.0 on: 486/66, 8MB RAM, SB, TMFCSPro.
With an enormous silence, Origin released RIGHTEOUS FIRE (RF). This is the much unexpected follow-up to their popular PRIVATEER game, which is itself the latest iteration of the venerable WING COMMANDER (WC) series. Although a follow up product to the game is obvious in hindsight, especially given the expansion disks that the WC games produced, there was hardly any publicity about this product - which is a shame, as there is plenty here for fans of the parent game.
For those not in the know, a brief precis on Privateer follows: the player is cast in the role of a space-faring adventurer. On planets, the character buys and sells goods, takes on missions, and talks to various characters that show up from time to time. In space, you occupy the cockpit and try to avoid getting blown up by your enemies while getting to your next destination. Opposition is in the form of Militia, Federal Navy, Pirates, Retros (religious Luddites in space), bounty hunters, and the big kittys - the Kilrathi. There is a strictly linear plot, revealed in three to four mission episodes, that the player is encouraged to follow and "solve" although there is plenty of fun to be had in just flying around and performing the randomised missions. The game is not quite as free-form as it was advertised to be, but is still entertaining as long as you liked the basic mechanics behind the WC series.
RF adds quite a bit to the original package. You do get to retain all that you had gained in the first game...except for the alien gun, which gets stolen in the opening introductory animation sequence. The initial mission is to try and get it back, which leads on to others and so on. There were no patches released for the original game, and the modifications introduced by RF are more "nice to haves" than necessary, and are not retroactive - i.e., they don't change the original Privateer game.
There are three areas of change:
1) Kill breakdown: you can now see how many of the various types of factions' ships that you have knocked off. This also shows your current relationship to these factions. This is a great boon in trying to figure out how to restore friendly relations with some factions, as this is based on kill ratios that you have run up of one faction vs. another.
2) Ship enhancements: Seven enhancements for each major ship component except scanners. Some have very subtle or hard to detect changes, while others are really clear - like better shields and armour. These all cost but for those who have run up the bank accoutn in the original, these are all immediatly available.
3) Keyboard: there are now keys for increasing shield level step by step instead of having to wipe out your shields and then select highest setting to step backwards. There is also a key for setting throttle to maximum instead of having to hit the + key repeatedly.
Fine. Now what was that about plot again? Origin probably listened to the complaints about a lack of freedom to manouver in the game galaxy, and decided to produce a multi-thread parallel plot. There is still a start and end point, but at the beginning, there are several multi-mission episodes that can be done in any order. You still have to finish all the missions in one episode before starting another, but at least you can choose which order to do them in. Once past the plot mid-point though, and the epsiodes come in strict order again.
The main enemy this time are the retros - this isn't giving anything away, it becomes clear pretty quickly after a couple of conversations with the entertaining series of bar-tenders. There is also a new ship type - not particularily effective - that appears irregularily. Finding the people to start the episodes is not obvious - you actually have to go looking for them. Trying all the main haunts from the first game is a good start but not guarenteed. Taking the missions offered by the mechants, mercenaries and mission computers will take you there eventually - just remember to keep checking the bars.
The problems in basic game design present in the parent still remain. There is something definetly fishy about the Origin joystick routines. Many players complained about the difficulty of particular missions, and the enemy ship AI can reduce the player to just holding down the trigger button and attempting to ram - a not ineffective tactic, and how I finished the final mission. However, the image of oars and a brass prow is not what I expected to be using my totally kitted-out Centurion for.
Bottom line - I payed for it, I played it and I enjoyed it. You get a feeling of accomplishment each time you complete an episode. The dialog is still hopelessly wooden and repetitive - but you end up blowing away most of the annoying ones so there is some satisfaction in that. Finishing it was tinged with relief, I have to admit, but I would still buy the next add-in if there is one. This is not going to change your opinion one way or the other about the system. If you liked the forebears, you'll like the progeny.
''This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by Nigel Slater for Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.''
</blockquote></tt>
<gallery>
gamebytes_rfire1.gif
gamebytes_rfire2.gif
gamebytes_rfire3.gif
</gallery>
* [https://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue19/greviews/ritefire.html Original]


==== Hyper ====
==== Hyper ====
Line 318: Line 539:
<gallery>
<gallery>
Hyper-007_0065.jpg
Hyper-007_0065.jpg
</gallery>
====Joystick (French)====
<gallery>
Joystick 048_0097.jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>



Latest revision as of 03:19, 20 February 2024

Privateer: Righteous Fire
RFBoxforTrans.png
Expansion for Wing Commander: Privateer
Platform MS-DOS
Engine Origin FX
Release Date February 24, 1994
December 20, 2012 (GOG)
Language English


Privateer: Righteous Fire is an expansion for Wing Commander Privateer. It was released on February 24, 1994.

Description

Privateer Righteous Fire

Welcome Back to the Edge of the Unknown

So you think you're a hotshot pilot. A clever entrepreneur. A notorious pirate. You've destroyed the Steltek Drone, secured the alien artifact, and outfought and outsmarted everyone in your way. Now, you're taking a well-deserved break on one of Gemini's pleasure worlds. But relaxation will soon be the last thing on your mind...

In Righteous Fire, you're once again transported to the seamy side of the universe, where you discover a fiendish plot that threatens the order and prosperity of Gemini Sector. Whether you're a merchant, pirate or mercenary, plenty of action awaits if you're willing to risk all you earned in Privateer.

  • Extend the career of your original Privateer character and ship as you undertake new money-making journeys through Gemini Sector!
  • Engage in higher-profit trade ventures as you barter and scrimp to equip your ship with new hardware.
  • Decide your own course of action and choose among multiple fixers. If you find a better offer elsewhere, take it!
  • Unveil a startling discovery in Gemini Sector as you find out why law and order are dissolving into chaos.

NOT A COMPLETE GAME. You must own Privateer to play Righteous Fire.

System Requirements

REQUIRES: PRIVATEER GAME, Additional 4+MB on hard disk (in addition to that required for Privateer)

MS-DOS: 386DX/33Mhz+, Intel 486™ or 100% compatible PC system

SUPPORTS: DOS 6.0 with DoubleSpace

OPTIMAL: 486/25MHz+, 1 meg video card, joystick and sound board

Packaging

Release Index

Platform Year EAN UPC Region Publisher Media Language
MS-DOS 1994 10026 0 17814 81311 5 United States Electronic Arts 3.5" HD diskette (2) English
MS-DOS 1994 0 17814 81311 5 Europe Electronic Arts 3.5" HD diskette (2) English, trilingual docs
MS-DOS 1994 Spain DROSoft 3.5" HD diskette (2) Spanish, Spanish docs

United States

Box Contents

  • (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
  • Privateer: Righteous Fire Installation Guide
  • Registration Card

Europe

Box Contents

  • (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
  • Privateer: Righteous Fire Installation Guide (Trilingual)
  • Strike Commander/Intel Poster
  • Registration Card

Spain

Box Contents

  • (2) 3.5" HD diskettes
  • Privateer: Righteous Fire Guia De Instalacion
  • License Agreement
  • Registration Card

Versions

There are two versions of Righteous Fire: the original diskette release and then an updated version included with Wing Commander Privateer CD-ROM.

Differences

  • The CD-ROM version has recorded speech for all dialogue. In-flight speech included in the original Wing Commander Privateer Speech Accessory Pack is also replaced with new recordings.
  • The armament of the Elite Salthi and Mordecai Jones' Centurion are changed. The CD-ROM replaces the Steltek Guns with Fusion Cannons.

Strategy Guides

There is no official guide which covers Righteous Fire.

Screenshots

Music

Composer Barry Leitch has provided three MIDI files of his music from Righteous Fire:

Cutscenes

Ships

Righteous Fire adds one new ship and one new base to the game. It also updates the capabilities of the four player ships and alters the specifications of three others.


Missions

Righteous Fire's campaign consists of 26 missions. It can be started by talking to Tayla at Oakham, Lynn Murphy at Edom, Sandra Goodin at Perry Naval Base or E. Masterson at the Oxford. The player must fly two out of three of the serieses from Tayla, Murphy and Goodin before they are able to progress past Masterson's missions.


Components

Righteous Fire adds eleven new upgrades to the game.


Universe

Characters

Other

Credits

Role Name Source
Production
Producer Warren Spector Game, Documentation
Development
Project Leader Arthur DiBianca Game, Documentation
Game Concept Phil Wattenbarger Game, Documentation
Programming Arthur DiBianca Game, Documentation
Design Tom Kassebaum Game, Documentation
Phil Wattenbarger Game, Documentation
Conversations Arthur DiBianca Game, Documentation
Phil Wattenbarger Game, Documentation
Art Melinda Bordelon Game, Documentation
Alan Perez Game, Documentation
Brian Smith Game, Documentation
Music Barry Leitch Game, Documentation
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance Leader Dan Orzulak Game, Documentation
Quality Assurance Team Charles Angel Game, Documentation
Jerrold Harrington Game, Documentation
Kevin Kushner Game, Documentation
Packaging
Graphic Design Trey Hermann Documentation
Documentation Arthur DiBianca Documentation
Tuesday Frase Documentation
Melissa Mead Documentation
Thanks
Special Thanks Ed Maurer Game, Documentation


Fan Mods

Behind the Screens

Point of Origin

February 15, 1994 - Vol. IV, No. 53

  • Fiscal Fitness: "Righteous Fire, originally scheduled to ship this week, will have to hold until next Wednesday (2/23) due to a translation snag in the UK."

May 6, 1994 - Vol. IV, No. 55

  • Pulse Check: "In fact, U8 came in at #2 on Software Etc's March sales charts, following SimCity 2000. On the same chart, Righteous Fire clocked in at #5."

July 15, 1994 - Vol. IV, No. 57

  • In Ink:"Even Righteous Fire is getting in on the act. Al Giovetti writes in Electronic Entertainment, 'A fast-paced trading, combat, pirating space-opera game enhanced by an absorbing plot, involving music and captivating sound effects. The result: pure fun.'"

Packaging Design

These digital components and iterations of the Righteous Fire box art were recovered from the Origin files at EA Mythic.

Typefaces

Elements

Layouts

Jerry Pournelle

In the December 1998 edition of Computing at Chaos Manor, Jerry Pournelle singled out Righteous Fire as "the single most enjoyable action game [he had] ever played."

Early on there was a spinoff game called Privateer which used the original Wing Commander engine and some of the original ships, but had a free form universe you could explore until you stumbled across the story line. That was followed by an ad-on scenario called "Righteous Fire" that was the single most enjoyable action game I have ever played. I loved Privateer and Righteous Fire... I still wish they’d simply publish the specs for writing ad on scenarios to the original Privateer, though. If they want to improve the graphics levels, fine, but in fact that was about good enough; and it sure was fun. I can think of a number of stories I could write in that universe.

Press

Reviews

Publication Issue Pages Score
APC July 1994 237-238 None
ComClub April 1994 35 4+/5
Computer Gaming World May 1994 25 None
Electronic Entertainment July 1994 91 3/5
Game Bytes Issue 19 n/a None
Hyper July 1994 66 82/100
HiScore Professionel May 1994 36-37 85/100
Joystick April 1994 98 None
Micromania April 1994 28 90/100
OK PC April 1994 60-61 90/100
PC Action April 1994 55 68/100
PC Review May 1994 76 5/10
PC Games N May 1994 114-115 80/100
PC Zone May 1994 46 80/100
Pelit March 1994 16 76/100
Play Time May 1994 52 90/100

APC

ComClub (Finnish)

Computer Gaming World

Electronic Entertainment

Game Bytes

RIGHTEOUS FIRE from Origin.

Reviewed by Nigel Slater

          Computer     Graphics      Memory        Disk Space
Minimum:   386/33      256 VGA       4MB              5MB
Max/Rec:   486/25      1MB SVGA
Control:   Joystick, Keyboard, Mouse.
  Sound:  Music  = Adlib, Soundblaster, PAS, MIDI
          Speech = Soundblaster, PAS
  Notes: Supports DOS 6.0 doublespace. Must own PRIVATEER.

Reviewed version 1.0 on: 486/66, 8MB RAM, SB, TMFCSPro.

With an enormous silence, Origin released RIGHTEOUS FIRE (RF). This is the much unexpected follow-up to their popular PRIVATEER game, which is itself the latest iteration of the venerable WING COMMANDER (WC) series. Although a follow up product to the game is obvious in hindsight, especially given the expansion disks that the WC games produced, there was hardly any publicity about this product - which is a shame, as there is plenty here for fans of the parent game.

For those not in the know, a brief precis on Privateer follows: the player is cast in the role of a space-faring adventurer. On planets, the character buys and sells goods, takes on missions, and talks to various characters that show up from time to time. In space, you occupy the cockpit and try to avoid getting blown up by your enemies while getting to your next destination. Opposition is in the form of Militia, Federal Navy, Pirates, Retros (religious Luddites in space), bounty hunters, and the big kittys - the Kilrathi. There is a strictly linear plot, revealed in three to four mission episodes, that the player is encouraged to follow and "solve" although there is plenty of fun to be had in just flying around and performing the randomised missions. The game is not quite as free-form as it was advertised to be, but is still entertaining as long as you liked the basic mechanics behind the WC series.

RF adds quite a bit to the original package. You do get to retain all that you had gained in the first game...except for the alien gun, which gets stolen in the opening introductory animation sequence. The initial mission is to try and get it back, which leads on to others and so on. There were no patches released for the original game, and the modifications introduced by RF are more "nice to haves" than necessary, and are not retroactive - i.e., they don't change the original Privateer game.

There are three areas of change:

1) Kill breakdown: you can now see how many of the various types of factions' ships that you have knocked off. This also shows your current relationship to these factions. This is a great boon in trying to figure out how to restore friendly relations with some factions, as this is based on kill ratios that you have run up of one faction vs. another.

2) Ship enhancements: Seven enhancements for each major ship component except scanners. Some have very subtle or hard to detect changes, while others are really clear - like better shields and armour. These all cost but for those who have run up the bank accoutn in the original, these are all immediatly available.

3) Keyboard: there are now keys for increasing shield level step by step instead of having to wipe out your shields and then select highest setting to step backwards. There is also a key for setting throttle to maximum instead of having to hit the + key repeatedly.

Fine. Now what was that about plot again? Origin probably listened to the complaints about a lack of freedom to manouver in the game galaxy, and decided to produce a multi-thread parallel plot. There is still a start and end point, but at the beginning, there are several multi-mission episodes that can be done in any order. You still have to finish all the missions in one episode before starting another, but at least you can choose which order to do them in. Once past the plot mid-point though, and the epsiodes come in strict order again.

The main enemy this time are the retros - this isn't giving anything away, it becomes clear pretty quickly after a couple of conversations with the entertaining series of bar-tenders. There is also a new ship type - not particularily effective - that appears irregularily. Finding the people to start the episodes is not obvious - you actually have to go looking for them. Trying all the main haunts from the first game is a good start but not guarenteed. Taking the missions offered by the mechants, mercenaries and mission computers will take you there eventually - just remember to keep checking the bars.

The problems in basic game design present in the parent still remain. There is something definetly fishy about the Origin joystick routines. Many players complained about the difficulty of particular missions, and the enemy ship AI can reduce the player to just holding down the trigger button and attempting to ram - a not ineffective tactic, and how I finished the final mission. However, the image of oars and a brass prow is not what I expected to be using my totally kitted-out Centurion for.

Bottom line - I payed for it, I played it and I enjoyed it. You get a feeling of accomplishment each time you complete an episode. The dialog is still hopelessly wooden and repetitive - but you end up blowing away most of the annoying ones so there is some satisfaction in that. Finishing it was tinged with relief, I have to admit, but I would still buy the next add-in if there is one. This is not going to change your opinion one way or the other about the system. If you liked the forebears, you'll like the progeny.

This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by Nigel Slater for Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.

Hyper

Joystick (French)

HiScore Professionel (Danish)

Micromania (Spanish)

OK PC (Spanish)

PC Action

PC Review

PC Games N (German)

PC Zone

Pelit (Finnish)

Play Time (German)

Guides

Play Time