4 people found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 415.7 hrs on record (227.1 hrs at review time)
Posted: Sep 28, 2014 @ 6:14pm

While my playclock there is probably half again what I have actually played, I have played a lot of this game. I have a few top 10 high scores (look for Seika), I've completed the story, and whole heck of a lot of missions in Tormented Space area (hard mode), so I have quite a bit of familiarity with the game.

Pros:
-A unique take on strategy that generally emphasizes resource and space management more than managing unit tactics, and the enemy is a rather literal tide rather than a more discreet set of units
-Huge array of playable content, with a wide variety of maps.
-Once you clear the main campaign, there are three main modes of pre-constructed maps. Prospector Zone has literally hundreds if not thousands of hours of content, Tormented Space exists for a good challenge, and Alpha Sector has some interesting and often difficult custom maps.

Cons:
-There is little to no AI to speak of. Certain types of enemies are capable of either roaming around randomly, and another will target random sections of your grid, but otherwise, the enemy will follow a strict pattern every map. Except for speed running, there is little point to replaying a map.
-Music will get repetitive.There is a mute button for a reason.
-Once you clear the main campaign, there are three modes. Prospector Zone is where much of the game's content lies, but the (generally) lower difficulty and lack of custom scripting means that most of these maps will get boring and repetitive. Tormented Space is not always the best tested: Some maps will feel almost as easy as the tutorial, while others are quite literally impossible without cheating (there is a thread on the Knuckle Cracker Forum dedicated to which maps are super difficult, which are insanely difficult [often requiring odd tricks in order to even stand a chance], which are possibly impossible, and which are undeniably impossible). If I have any complaint about Alpha Sector, it is that many of these maps were designed by some of the best players to be at their level, so it can be hard to make progress through those missions.

The game can feel repetitive, particularly playing too much in too short a time, but the game has kept me hooked. I would recommend playing this game to anyone who enjoys puzzles and strategy, or who likes playing unique games.
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