Faster Than Light

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

Well you know the rest, all that junk to do with space and stuff. I wouldn't know as I haven't seen Star Wars and don't have that much of an interest in space. But this game changed that, and now I want to be an astronaut. Faster Than Light is a single player strategy/simulation game in which you control and run a spaceship and its crew.

Gameplay is very simple, but it works and doesn't need to be complicated. Pointing and clicking is all that is involved and then you watch your actions unfold, whilst tweaking what is happening to ensure the best end. Combat is quite effective as you simply click your weapon, from which you have a number of different choices but can only use four at a time, then click the area on the enemies ship where you wish to fire. Different weapons do different damage, some leave fire damage, some breach the enemies systems and you will discover your own style of how you like to attack pretty quickly. I enjoy a good missile to the enemies shields to lower their defense and then laser after laser into their weapons and engines to avoid them running from the battle. It is very easy to learn, yet hard to master and every fight will have you trying new things. I would recommend playing on easy first to give yourself a chance of figuring out all the ins and outs without being insta-killed.

The game itself and how you play it will vary a huge amount from other people who play this game. Some people are guns blazing and will attack any ship they come across, this may ultimately be there downfall however as their Hull, or in other words your health, will be taken down more easily, whereas if you were playing more cautiously and using cloaking devices to avoid confrontation you may survive for a lot longer but without finding as many supplies. Talking about supplies this game is very simple with its currency and extras that you use to improve your ship. Currency is in the form of scrap which you will find by destroying enemy ships, by helping allies in distress or by simply getting lucky.

This is where the game can get a bit tricky. It is very hard to balance how you spend your scrap. Should you save up and buy drones and other upgrades in a shop you might come across? Or is it better to spend them when you can and upgrade your ships systems, and even then, what particular systems should be upgraded first? This is where your style will take over and after trial and error you will learn what works best for you. I think shields is always good to upgrade first, along with weapons and engines as this increases dodge chance. Not only do you have to give scrap to each area to upgrade it, you also need to upgrade your reactor, which is essentially your energy source which you use to power all areas of your ship.

Navigating is very easy and simple as well. You are stationed at different coordinates in a sector which you have to make your way through to the exit to then continue on, with the ultimate goal of getting to the end and destroying the rebel warships. As you pursue your way through each sector you are encouraged to explore as much as possible, with different coordinates holding different tasks. Some may have distress calls that will lead to a quest, or some may be an ambush by a group of pirates.

Either way you are always given a choice of how you will respond. This game doesn't use big action scenes to explain what is happening, you simply read the scenario that occurs at your given coordinates and then choose your fate. Options are fairly straightforward, either fight and have the chance of an enemy surrender and perhaps be given a slave for your use, or flee and keep moving onward but without gaining anything from that particular location.

This was definitely the game i was looking for when i purchased this and it is a great game that you can play for as little or as long as you like.

PROS - great gameplay, fast paced combat which can get extremely intense and hectic, great amount of different weapons and ways that you can physically play the game, very cheap game on steam, different crew members who can do different things

CONS - the biggest let down is no multiplayer even though it seems it would be the perfect game for it, you also cannot save along the way, you are forced to save and quit every time, but i suppose this is part of the challenge of the game as it makes you really think about your choices.

I have fallen in love with this game, and i am constantly thinking of better tactics of how to play. Knowing each time i play is going to be drastically different it keeps pulling me back in for more and i don't see myself getting tired of it in the near future. This game is a must for anyone who loves space, strategy or just having the power to control a spaceship. I give this game 9/10, as much as i want to give it a 10, the lack of multiplayer is a real let down but the game does not disappoint as single player.