X2: The Threat Review

By Rob Fahey Published 6 February, 2004

It wants to be Elite.

Version tested: PC

If there's one piece of apparel you're sure to find in the ensemble of even the most fashion-challenged gamer, it's a nice pair of rose-tinted spectacles - to be used mostly when considering the videogames of yesteryear, particularly those which have become embedded in our minds as the games which defined our "youth". Such as it was.

One such classic of times past is certainly Elite - and there are probably few games for which the rose-tinted glass gets dragged out more often. Any discussion about what games you'd like to see made simply isn't complete without someone saying "they should do a proper remake of Elite," an outburst to be followed by wistful sighing and sage nodding from the entire group. Elite, it could be argued, is the shining light of retro gaming - perhaps the one old game which simply has not been bettered by a modern take on the same genre, and hence something of a sacred cow to, well, just about any gamer over the age of twenty.

Beyond Beyond The Frontier

'X2: The Threat' Screenshot 1

It's quite apparent from the outset that the design discussion for Egosoft's ambitious follow-up to X: Beyond The Frontier started off with the line "we should do a proper remake of Elite," and that's been the team's goal right throughout development. X2: The Threat is a game which sets out to combine space combat and navigation with trading in much the same way that Elite did, but with the addition of a couple of decades worth of advancement to game design and technology. As with Elite, you start out with a low-spec ship and a few credits to your name, and from the outset, it's possible to simply go and play in a vast universe full of opportunity and danger.

This time, however, the universe is a lot more complex and advanced than the relatively simple affair presented in Elite. Egosoft has set out to create a vast, sprawling game world with an intricate and perfectly simulated economy, and in this effort the developer has been hugely successful. The enormous universe available to you in X2 is hugely impressive in terms of scale, but even more impressive in terms of detail - beautifully realised and staggeringly complex, it provides you with an economy where you can play around to your hearts content and actually see the effects that your actions have on the universe as a whole.

What's more, the team has given you massive freedom to play within this universe. Unlike Elite, you are not restricted to a single ship; it's possible to acquire additional ships and order them around, while you fly your main craft, so for example you can set them running on trade routes to earn cash, or have them fly as wingmen for you in tricky situations. You can even purchase factories and build up a corporate empire of your own - there's very little limit to what can be achieved in the game, and the early stages of gameplay will often have you gawping at the incredible ships and stations that inhabit the star systems, while later in the game you'll be able to own and command those very ships and stations.

To top it off, the game looks absolutely fantastic, and has to be one of the most graphically gorgeous representations of space we've ever seen. Everything is bump mapped and realistically lit, with harsh black shadows falling across objects and a wide selection of diverse and interesting ship and station designs for the various different races and sectors of space in the game. The downside is that it's an extremely power-hungry game and if you have a PC that's fallen much behind the cutting edge, performance will be dodgy to say the least. For a new PC, however, this is a game that will really show off the capabilities of all that expensive new hardware.

Economically Sound

'X2: The Threat' Screenshot 2

All of this is very impressive indeed, and Egosoft is to be commended highly for creating such a fantastically ambitious and beautifully realised game world. Unfortunately, however, it's likely that most people who play X2 will never get to see very much of that world - because for all the thought that's gone into creating such an incredible playground, the developers seem to have forgotten to actually devise a decent game to play there.

As previously mentioned, you start the game (after a fairly hackneyed cut-scene involving your arrest for the theft of a spaceship and subsequent rehabilitation thanks to a military officer who takes an interest in you) with a fairly puny ship. In order to give the game some structure, there are a series of missions to be undertaken, which will get you exploring the local galaxy and earning some credits, but right from the outset you're also encouraged to get involved in trading yourself, and keen business minds will soon be working out the best trade routes both within the local systems and between different systems.

There are also a variety of other missions which can be undertaken by gaining in rank and then accepting missions from characters at the various space stations - these are quite varied, ranging from delivery missions through to races, search and destroy missions and a host of other types in between. However, it's clear very quickly that these missions are merely a distraction - the main meat of this game lies in trading or fighting, with even the running plot (yes, there is one, although the degree to which you decide to follow it is up to you) taking a back seat to the basic Elite-style gameplay mechanics.

The problem is that those gameplay mechanics actually aren't a lot of fun. The game is full of problems which start to grate very quickly indeed - ranging from a host of interface issues through to a poorly conceived flight model and right up to the biggest bugbear of all - namely atrociously poor pacing which frankly offers very little reward for enormous amounts of time invested in the game.

Free as a Bird

'X2: The Threat' Screenshot 3

The first thing you're likely to have trouble with is the interface to the game, which frankly hasn't been thought out particularly well at all. X2 is an extraordinarily complex game which requires you to interact with a range of systems - trading, navigation, combat, and communications, to name but a few of the most obvious ones - and as such, the interface needs to be intuitive and helpful. Sadly, it is neither - with relatively obscure keyboard shortcuts being the order of the day for the majority of operations, and even after tens of hours in the cockpit, as it were, the mechanisms for controlling relatively simple operations feel clunky and awkward.

A difficult menu system might be more forgivable if the flight system itself weren't so flawed, but, sadly, the extra time that Egosoft apparently took to work on the flight and combat systems hasn't really paid off. Whether using a mouse or a joystick to navigate (a joystick is definitely preferable), there's an inaccuracy to the controls that leaves your ship drifting around in space and makes combat quite a chore early in the game. Things improve somewhat later on, but the clunky interface suggests that Digital Anvil's supremely polished (if less ambitious) Freelancer never happened, while the dull and frustrating space combat gives you the impression Freespace never happened.

Both of those problems are frustrations which many gamers would probably be willing to deal with if X2 was delivering on its promise of providing the sort of interaction with its stunningly realised universe that we were hoping for - but unfortunately, it's this that sounds the death knell for the game for the majority of players, we fear. While the latter stages of the game are certainly fascinating, and the ability to watch the effects of your actions on the economy of the galaxy as you build a genuine interstellar business empire is quite unique to this genre, the sad fact is that you're going to have to persevere on low-end trading milk runs for a very, very long time before you get to see any of that.

In space, nobody can hear you snore

'X2: The Threat' Screenshot 4

In fact, you're probably looking at a good thirty to forty hours of gameplay before you start to touch on the high-level possibilities of X2 - thirty to forty hours of running increasingly dull missions and trade runs and grappling with frustrating combat and a badly designed interface, before the things you really want to do in the game start to present themselves to you. In terms of pacing, this is slower progress than a lot of MMORPGs offer - and given the notorious "level grind" mentality behind those games, that's really saying something.

Herein lies the key issue with X2. While it's somewhat unprofessional for a reviewer to ponder why a developer decided to make a certain type of game rather than aiming for a different game entirely, an exception needs to be made here - because the question has to be asked, why isn't X2 a massively multiplayer game? Egosoft have gone to the trouble of modelling a complicated economy, creating an utterly huge game environment, and designing a game around the idea of very gradual levelling-style progression; they've even built in a fame system which gives you access to new missions as you progress, and the concept of corporations owning factories and independently piloted ships working together. However, having created all of this, they then went and populated this game with one player only - and without the ongoing social hook of a massively multiplayer game, that quickly wears thin.

X2 is a superbly ambitious game which achieves much of what it sets out to do, but the fact of the matter is that the Elite sacred cow needs to be led to the slaughter. This is, to a large degree, a faithful reproduction of Elite gameplay, brought to life in a modern game, but that gameplay simply hasn't stood the test of time, and ignoring the obvious genre high water marks such as Conflict Freespace doesn't help in the slightest either.

Egosoft desperately needs to think very hard about where they want to go with these games - as an MMORPG, X2 would be a much more interesting proposition, but as a single-player game, it's definitely one for the hardcore fans only.

5 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (95) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • itamae #1 8 years ago

    /sits down with a nice cup of tea, awaiting Lutz's comment

  • Blerk #2 8 years ago

    Ooh... shame. Could've been good if they'd got it right...

    /goes back to playing Elite

  • renzo #3 8 years ago

    /almost feels sorry for Lutz... ALMOST :-}

    /joins itamae with cup of tea

    /haughtily sips tea

  • UncleLou #4 8 years ago

    I haven't played enough to be able to really comment on the score - but it seems a bit harsh. While most of what Shinji says is true, the game is also incredbily addictive. I've just earned enough money to buy my first factory (which hopefully means that the trade runs are a thing of the past more or less, or at least I can make them compeltely automatic), and that's after maybe 8 hours.

    That said, even at the moment, very early in the game, I am not doing the trade runs myself, but just remote-control my transporter while exploring the galaxy in a fast little ship.

    It can't be pointed out too often that this is, first and foremost, a trading sim in disguise of a space sim/shooter.



  • Amajiro #5 8 years ago

    Yeah, the review is spot on. Looks nice, but inutterably boring unless you cheat. My advice is download the rolling demo and watch that - it's far more entertaining than the actual game.

  • jimmyjimbob #6 8 years ago

    5/10 seems a bit harsh IMO. Most of the problems with the interface could be sorted out with a patch. Granted it is a bit of a slog to get anywhere, while this isn't ideal it doesn't make the game warrant such a low score

  • UncleLou #7 8 years ago

    Looks nice, but inutterably boring unless you cheat

    Erm, I think you might have missed the point of the game. Like I said, it's a trading sim, and related rather to the tycoon/empire-building games than to a space sim. There's nothing deadlier to kill the fun of a trading sim than to use a money cheat imo. It's like playing an FPS in God mode.

  • pjmaybe #8 8 years ago

    (swiftly cancels play order)

    Thought as much - It would end up being one of those games that's nice in theory but the execution's not worth the upgrade hike.

    /waits patiently for BFV

    Peej

  • Nemesis #9 8 years ago

    I think Lutz is out buying it now.

  • Harry  #10 8 years ago

    Even though I like the game an awful lot. Would give it an eight personally, I can't argue with most of the points made here. The cutscenes are arse and the menu system a bit naff to say the least. However you can have a factory running soon after the Brennan's Triumph mission (very early on) rather than the many many hours some people have found. But yeah, it's clunky as hell and a game perhaps that will only appeal to a few. I just happen to be one of the few who can be arsed persevering.

  • MikeD #11 8 years ago

    I think it's pretty clear why this is not a MMORPG. To my knowledge there hasn't been a directly controlled combat system in any mmorpg. It's all turnbased, for pings. So it's probably just not possible yet.


    oh hold on, forgot that sony mmofps, but that stinks. And I think it still has ping issues.

  • UncleLou #12 8 years ago

    think it's pretty clear why this is not a MMORPG. To my knowledge there hasn't been a directly controlled combat system in any mmorpg

    There's a MMORPG version planned though, with (afaik) exactly the same game mechanics. I am doubtful as well though that it would work.

  • Mike_Hunt #13 8 years ago

    This should be good.

    Lutz's has booked a day off work especially for this game. He's due back from his shopping trip any minute now.

    At least he's not done anything silly like buy it from Game and from Play.com...

    /starts making popcorn

    [MH]

  • Mike_Hunt #14 8 years ago

    Whether using a mouse or a joystick to navigate (a joystick is definitely preferable),

    Oh boy, oh boy!

    /orders in more popcorn with a side order of hotdogs

    [MH]

  • UncleLou #15 8 years ago

    He might like it, who knows, Dirtbox, Harry and me sure do like it. Still a bit of an ethusiasm killer to find this review when he just bought the game he's been anticipating for months and upgrading his PC for I imagine.

  • Lutz #16 8 years ago

    Oh!

    Well, the only things I can say as I've not played it yet are:

    The MMORPG version is being made Shinji. Thoguh release date is unknown.
    Interface and keyboard mapping is indeed a very large bone of contention.
    It isn't meant to be the next elite as such. It's more of an empire building game. Think of civilisation in space. Apparently.
    Combat is meant to be a bit dodgy at the moment to say the least.

    On the upside Egosoft have a commitment to fix their games, and tehy patched X:BTF to perfection. 1.3 is already being worked on.
    Whilst I know this is no excuse I think if you play it in say 3 months time it might be a different game.

    Also, no mention of the AI scripting???

    Guys: I love you all. Really I do. You thought of me, I'm touched. :D

    I'll be back in a few hours after testing this. Keep your eye either here or on the forums. :)

  • Mike_Hunt #17 8 years ago

    Agreed UL. It really his kind of game, and he's already stated that he doesn't expect it to live up to the hype. I'm sure he'll be entertained by it.

    [MH]

  • UncleLou #18 8 years ago

    See? He's in good spirit! :-)

  • Khanivor #19 8 years ago

    X2 is basicaly Xtensions with a graphics upgrade and an interface downgrade. The fact has to be faced that egosoft aren't very good at making enjoyable games.

  • Nemesis #20 8 years ago

    /watches forum with interest.

  • Errol #21 8 years ago

    Buy eve instead.

  • Blerk #22 8 years ago

    EVE SUCKS!

    :-D

  • pjmaybe #23 8 years ago

    So we can expect the reader review from Lutz next week singing its praises then? Can we? Can we?

    What is it, is his uncle the developer or somethin?

    Peej

  • Lutz #24 8 years ago

    First impressions are good.
    The mouse isn't brilliant, but it's not as bad as I had thought it would be.
    The menu's aren't that bad either.

    It's a bit tough getting used the lay out though.
    The tutorial is pretty pants, and the moment it ends the computer ends it for you, you don't exit.

    Remarkably I find a fair chunk of the controls second nature, as they're FreeSpace 2 controls.

    I've had little issue with graphics. I'm running full specs (Bar shadows) on 1024*768*32. It's defo running as smooth as the demo. So far anyway.

    Some things I do find disturbing: You can't hear your engines! I'm so used to hear the throttle... no afterburners either. I also cannot find out how to go to external view. Although I think that may be disabled for some reason.

    Jumping out of your ship is pretty cool, as is docking. Elite style docking ahoy! :D

    Ah! Just found external view on the keycard diag thingy. I'll check that out shortly.

    Well, dinner now!

  • UncleLou #25 8 years ago

    Elite style docking ahoy! :D


    Until you find out that it's fully automatic with a single key, you don't even need a docking computer. ;-)

  • Blerk #26 8 years ago

    Some things I do find disturbing: You can't hear your engines! I'm so used to hear the throttle... no afterburners either.

    In space, no-one can hear you thrust. :-)

    Surely that's realistic? Sound doesn't carry in space.

  • UncleLou #27 8 years ago

    But you'd certainly hear your engines inside of a spaceship.

  • Lutz #28 8 years ago

    UncleLou is right, you would hear them inside. Or something anyway. Ironcially enough in the external view you can hear them! :D

    Erm, How do you set your monitors to target a specific ship???

  • Harry  #29 8 years ago

    You can use T to target something in front of you, otherwise use pgup/pgdown to move through ship targets. You use shift-1 to send a target to monitor 1, or you can do it via the menu. For example press . (dot) to open the sector menu, choose a target and make it the monitor target. You can make missiles default to a monitor too – so have the target in one monitor and the missile chasing it in the other. You can enlarge the monitor and also control the camera within it.
    Edited by 1 at 06/02/04 @ 13:58

  • Tipsy #30 8 years ago

    Ha, and I was about to ask "Where is Errol with the obligatory 'buy eve' comment?". What happened with that corp property stealing business, btw?

  • Shrui #31 8 years ago

    I am a fan but that in itself concerns me as the game has so many flaws and it seems I'm happy to accept these awful design decisions! :(

    I played Elite 2 and 3 extensively (still do now and then) and the trading run grinds to earn some money to get the good stuff are simply not as long as in this game.
    Unless you take advantage of an exploit after the second mission it just takes too damn long to work up some cash. Even taking advantage of it still only cuts a small amount of the work out.
    Luckily the trading scripts once you own some more ships do help enormously. Unfortunately your trading ship, none of which are cheap, may at random come across an immensley powerful alien ship and lose you 200k or more. Now, after a long time of building that cash you can imagine how frustrating that is. I played Eve in beta which at the time suffered exactly the same problems (is it better now?) and you'd have thought Egosoft could have learned from that.

    Mouse control I found to be useless as it stands now and they only just got joystick control to an acceptable level through patches.

    While you get used to the interface, it is one of the most atrocious and inaccessible I've ever come across in a game (although Need For Speed Underground's UI can get me swearing). It's all done by either arrow keys scrolling through endless menus or awkward shortcut keys. No mouse pointer and no option to customise it in anyway.

    But despite all of this I continue with the game as the parts of the game that do work keep me hooked. I actually love games where there is endless ways to customise the ship, it's great to experiment with it all. Also, while it ain't as good as the Elite series I still love this genre and you do have a great sense of freedom in the game.

    *edit* typo
    Edited by 1 at 06/02/04 @ 16:14

  • Dirtbox #32 8 years ago

    It's a love it or hate it game. Shinji didn't get it.

  • Lutz #33 8 years ago

    So far I'm totally and utterly hooked.
    I've not had any graphical glitches.
    My only major grip, and it isn't that major to be honest, is I'm having to use mouse and keyboard to pilot my ship (heading wise) People speaking of trading? Hmm... well, the second mission thingy has been removed apparently, so that won't work. However I'm a newbie to the X games and I've made 10,000 in about 2 hours. Bare in mind at least 3,000 of that was in the last 20 minutes as it all just suddenly "clicked".
    I don't forsee trading as a problem so far... but we'll see.

    Shinji: Question for you mate. As you've written a good review (Content wise I mean) and given your average score of the game, how do you like the fact that on the instruction manual of the game Erogamer is quoted as saying: "It's a beautiful looking game with a stunning amount of content and some really great ideas in the game design..." ?
    ;) I find it hilarious myself! :)

    Personally I think you've written a good review. Been abit harsh on the score maybe, but hey, that's what you're paid for. And as DB said, think it's a love or hate game, like Eve. I dunno. I'm waffling.

  • dstarr78 #34 8 years ago

    I think it's great!

  • max #35 8 years ago

    Thank you Lutz, you sold it to me.

    I think the point that has been mentioned on this forum that is oft forgotten is that the game is an empire-building sim, not a combat sim. Granted, it could have been a bit more exciting if they'd honed the combat, but surely its most satisfying seeing your empire coming to fruition and ultimately taking over the galaxy?

    Can't wait to get it, I forsee a very sleepless few months (when I get it, and have a PC handy... which could be a couple of months... bah...)

    Max

  • Lutz #36 8 years ago

    Max: Bare in mind that there is a few flaws mate. It ain't golden, not yet anyway. Hopefully Egosoft will make it so.
    You'll also need a killer PC to run it on. I was reading PC... Gamer? Some PC mag anyway and it stuttered on their Alienware demon ninja PC so bewarned! :D I'm running P4 2.8HT, 1gig ram @ 400mhz and 128mb 9800pro, and I've got shadows off. I suspect in teh very busy sectors I'll have to drop the bump mapping too. Dunno yet.

    Join us in the forums, there's a large X2 thread going on. :)

  • yegon #37 8 years ago

    Been playing the US version since December - definitely a love it or hate it game. Personally, I love it, but acknowledge that it IS flawed and buggy (as hell sometimes).

    Dont listen to me though, most of the gaming press trashed X:BTF (pre X-tension) and I played it/loved it for about six months. If you can take the s-l-o-w start (much quicker than XBTF though) and can get around some of the daunting control mechanics it's a really,really good game imo. After the disapointment of Eve and Freelancer, I'm pleased I FINALLY have a decent modern space sim to play.

  • sam_spade #38 8 years ago

    "Games with lots and lots and lots of mind numbing repetition were the only skills required are to remember button combinations or possess quick reactions do not appeal to everyone "

    Look okay, we get it. The control system in X2 isn't that good. I wish people would stop going on about it.

    Oh and on the Elite comparison thing, isn't Elite more of a straight to the point game. You'd get your stock, leave the stations, jump (or fight) and then dock another station. Both X2 (it seems) and Eve have a long space flight time which I think pushes people away.

  • yegon #39 8 years ago

    Sam, I don't think Grownup was referring to X2's controls (although I may be wrong).

  • Lutz #40 8 years ago

    Sam: I don't think X2's fighting is that long mate. In fact the bulk of the game is Empire building.

  • Clive_Dunn #41 8 years ago

    I think, as has been said by a number of other people, that this really is a prime example of a game you either love or hate.

    I have to say that after 2 months of the US version I still haven't decided which camp I fall into. I want to love it, it is the new Elite, I don't accept that the control system is unintuitive - its complicated but with so much to do it has to be. It looks lovely, the universe is huge, you can have a massive fleet of ships ( carriers ! ), and a huge empire of trading stations.

    But I still feel something is missing, and its difficult to put your finger on exactly what it is. I think it might be due to a totally uninvolving central plot, terrible cutscenes, and your character being called "Julian". For me "Julian" is more likely to be playing polo at the weekend than saving the universe. I know its shallow, but its difficult to feel much empathy with "Julian" and it stops me living and breathing the universe as I felt I did with Elite all those years ago.

    Having said that though, if you have a decent PC and like slower paced games, I'd recommend you play this one - at times its simply majestic in what its trying to do.

    Love it or loathe it, in the days of risk-adverse development its a joy to see people with a vision creating games.

  • Lutz #42 8 years ago

    Clive: You can rename the main character...

  • Clive_Dunn #43 8 years ago

    In the cutscenes ?

  • sam_spade #44 8 years ago

    Lutz,

    I was saying about the whole approach of Elite is to get you from place to place as quick as possible, with some fights inbetween to spice it up.

    Modern space games seem to be more about drifting along in space for a lot of the time.

  • UncleLou #45 8 years ago

    It's 4 am, I've just set up my first factory, which involved hiring a massive transporter that followed me through a few sytems and then built my factory where I told him to, and the only thing that could stop me playing is that I want to go to bed before dawn.

    I haven't been this addicted to a game in along, long time.

  • Lutz #46 8 years ago

    Clive: Oh yeah! :)

    Sam: Erm... IIRC in Elite when you warped from system to system you still had a two minute flight to get the space station... and you fly for less than that in X2 and Freelancer... ?

  • Chris_C #47 8 years ago

    I think this game can be a combat sim, if you are willing to cheat.

    *Hears outrages from the background*

    The main problem with the combat of the game is 2 things - first is the AI ramming your ship. That cannot be helped except by learning some ninji reflex. After about 10 to 20 fights, you should be able to get the hang of avoiding the AI ship ramming you, as you can guess their pattern. (the AI behaves slightly differently just before it rams you)

    The second problem with this game is the speed of the weapon. The most common weapon you use to kill things, the HPT (I think) travels extremely slowly, compared to the fast enemy. There are two cheatings solution. One is to download a script that will allow you the use of a khazk M3, which provides a beam weapon. The ssecond option is to install the speed up weapon mod.

    Both are available at www.xscripting.com

    Using the above, I have much enjoyment out of the game from shooting the Xenon, and Khazk systems.

  • Clive_Dunn #48 8 years ago

    Cheers Lutz, I hadn't noticed that option - I'll try to consign Julian to the grave of poorly named central characters.

  • Errol #49 8 years ago

    LOL. The character you play is called Julian ??

  • Lutz #50 8 years ago

    Better than Errol. Or Isla. That's all I can say.

  • sam_spade #51 8 years ago

    Or Nicholas

  • Lutz #52 8 years ago

    And it's better than being a choir boy.

  • sam_spade #53 8 years ago

    La-la-la-la!

    /puts hand in collection box

  • Lutz #54 8 years ago

    /passes Errols details to a dodgy priest.

    No KY. He likes it without.

  • Shinji #55 8 years ago

    In fact, no more boring then Privateer or Elite - anyone who loves those games will find X-2 great.

    Well that's interesting, because I absolutely loved both of those games.

    I think anyone who bothers reading the review rather than peering at the score before ranting (I'm looking at you here, "Grownup";) will realise that I have a lot of time for what Egosoft tried to accomplish here, and a huge amount of respect for the elements of it which they did get right.

    However, the fact is that this game is deeply, deeply flawed in ways which, probably for the vast majority of players, simply prevents it from being fun or rewarding. I think it's fair to say that most people who picked this game up in expectation of enjoying it because they used to love Elite will come away disappointed.

    This is NOT just based on my own opinion - I'd fully expected to love X2 to bits (as I think is clear from the preview I wrote some time ago) so when I didn't, there was a definite "is it just me?!" moment. Having spoken to a number of other journalists and gamers who have been playing the game... No, it's not just me. Most people I know, even really hardcore fans of this genre (who played loads of X:BTF and Hardwar) gave up on X2 after a few hours.

  • Zaccix #56 8 years ago

    I think Harel nailed the key phrase: "reviewer opinion". Shinji is only one person who just happens to have written Eurogamer's review of X2, and doesn't rate the game very highly. Some websites and magazines have rated X2 similarly to Eurogamer, while others have praised it highly. It's all just a bunch of opinions.

    X2 is very much a "love it or hate it" game. It's not a game to be played in the allocated amount of time reserved for each game before a review is posted and it's on to the next one. If X2 "clicks" with you, you'll enjoy it thoroughly. If it doesn't, you'll want to take it back to the store. GAME's 10-day returns policy is always an option.

    Yes, there are some problems with the game, such as the AI ramming you when fighting, and the controls not being as sharp as they could be in combat, but these can easily be patched out. I'm not saying I approve of this method of releasing games, but the fact is these problems are not set in stone. Also, unlike Freelancer, Egosoft do actually patch X2, rather than having released it in a "fire and forget" manner (hello, Digital Anvil).

    There is a lot to like about X2. Anyone who has ever played Frontier will recognise elements from that game in X2, such as the dynamic economy, missions posted on bulletin boards and the underlying idea which is to build yourself up in the game universe. You can spacewalk, hijack ships, build a trading empire, become a pirate, become a mercenary or just go and explore the X-Universe (which is pretty big...)

    In an industry that's churning out more and more production-line games designed to be bought, played then traded in, it's so refreshing to see a game like X2 released. Even if it's not the perfect space sim, it takes risks that you'll never see in an EA game, a Ubisoft game or a Microsoft game designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

    Oh, and anyone who complains about the amount of time taken to fly anywhere in X2 or even Freelancer has forgotten (or never played) the journey to Alpha Centauri in Frontier. :)

  • Shrui #57 8 years ago

    "Oh, and anyone who complains about the amount of time taken to fly anywhere in X2 or even Freelancer has forgotten (or never played) the journey to Alpha Centauri in Frontier. :) "

    Ah! That brings back memories! Thank god there was some sort of variable time compression in that game. If only Egosoft could learn.....

    But what about the fact you can install a time saving device called S.E.T.A or something for very little cash in X2? It speeds time up by 6x by default and you can customise it in game options up to 10x. That and most engines can be tuned to make ships fly faster as well.

    And on top of that you can buy a jump engine to skip between galaxies for some ships.

    And every ship (including the one you are currently flying) can be set on autopilot to get to places and do more with certain software upgrades.

    AND ALSO (last one) when you enter a station and you seemingly have to fly through the station just press escape to skip that bit (which unfortunately is not immediately obvious).

    As much as I have to complain about this game, the actual travel times (I've played SWG before mounts and vehicles, I KNOW PAIN) is not something I've had to complain about.

  • gayebyker #58 8 years ago

    Another recently released view on the game

    htt p://www.deadalfs.co.uk/reviews/1349/index.html

    Basically concurs with the majority of what Shinji said.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/04 @ 10:09

  • Shinji #59 8 years ago

    He clearly doesn't trust his own opinion so why should i?

    You're quite clearly bonkers. Unlike you, I'm not fucking arrogant enough to think that my opinion is the be-all and end-all of gaming commentary, so before posting a negative review, I went and spoke to a bunch of other gamers who like titles in this genre to make sure I wasn't being unfair... And this somehow invalidates what I wrote? Er, right.

    Shinji is only one person who just happens to have written Eurogamer's review of X2, and doesn't rate the game very highly.

    If I had a pound for every time I've said "a review is just one person's opinion" on the EG comment threads and forums, I'd have... about fifty pounds, I reckon. Your statement is absolutely true - the only thing I'd add is that I hope that what I've written, as well as expressing my own opinion, gives readers the ability to decide for themselves whether they agree with my opinion, or whether they need to seek out further opinions or try the game for themselves.

  • Stevas mkII #60 8 years ago

    Sorry I'm late to this party but,

    Lutz wrote: "Whilst I know this is no excuse I think if you play it in say 3 months time it might be a different game."

    o_O

    (Heh, first time I got to use that. Brill.)

    Didn't you miss out the word 'fucking' between '3' and 'months'?
    Oh, and surely by
    'it might be a different game'
    you meant
    ', after playing it for seven hours a TWATTING day, it'd be the bestest thing ever!'

    mmm?

  • eviltobz #61 8 years ago

    stevas, are you ignoring unregistered posters? i made the 7 hours a day for 3 months gag when i couldn't be arsed to log in properly at home.

    /mopes away dejectedly

  • Stevas mkII #62 8 years ago

    Shit. Sorry, Evil. My bad.
    Heh.
    Anyhow it wasn't that I just wanted to shout THREE FUCKING MONTHS (or, for that matter, SEVEN HOURS AN ARSING DAY) again, but more that I wanted to determine if Lutz had perhaps subconsciously settled on a figure he'd earlier scoffed at in another thread.
    Sod that.
    THREE MONTHS!? SEVEN HOURS A DAY?! etc..

  • eviltobz #63 8 years ago

    fair enough, but i think lutz' point was more that in 3 months the major flaws would probably have been patched out, rather than having to slog through 213 hours or so before the game opens itself up.

  • Lutz #64 8 years ago

    Heh... No, the three months thingy is how long it should be taking them to get out the bugs, not how long it'll take for you to start enjoying it. I'm enjoying it immensly right away. And I'm sure that in 3 months it'll be just as good. :)

    Oh, and today I've played for about... 7 hours... Seriously...

  • Lutz #65 8 years ago

    Yeah, that's what I meant tobz. :)

    The game opens up within a couple of hours, the first of which are basically a tutorial for the game, giving you time to get your feet on the ground as it were. After that you're free. I reckon within a week I'll have a small empire. :)

  • eviltobz #66 8 years ago

    we're not gonna start calling you emporer lutz tho, so don't get any conceited ideas :b

  • Lutz #67 8 years ago

    Bow down before me tobz. ;)

  • jimmyjimbob #68 8 years ago

    Just noticed a quote from Eurogamer on the inside back of the manual. I'm guessing they won't be quoting much of this interview on any other merchandise though......
    Edited by 1 at 16/02/04 @ 11:23

  • spelk #69 8 years ago

    Just for information, details of the MMORPG version of the game in developed are here:

    http://www.online-uni verse.net/

  • Lutz #70 8 years ago

    Xinch, where?

  • Whizzo #71 8 years ago

    First screenshot :-

    "The battle strechtes over several waves..."

  • sam_spade #72 8 years ago

    And it should be Asteroid Belt, not Asteroidbelt. And the A in alpha should be capitalised in the third screenshot.
    Edited by 1 at 16/02/04 @ 15:40

  • spelk #73 8 years ago

    I can't help feel that the interface is very cumbersome, and that a simple 'overview' mode would have made managing your ships a sinch. With the ability to drop in to any ship in the beautiful 3d world, for combat or for just a browse around. But as it is, you're stuck in the cockpit, spending hours mooching through menus some of which actually require scrolling down before you can use them (unless you memorise the shortcut keys - which seems to be the only way you can play this game viably). For all the comments about the game being 'boring', I can see where the appeal lies, its because this isn't really a spaceship sim, its more a trading and empire sim. 95% of your time will be spent in the information menus, with 5% at the helm of a ship via joystick. For all its 3d beauty, I still prefer the more authentic look of Eve. But here I get to tinker with the economy at my own pace, and I don't get stung every month nor annoyed with griefers and I can automate shipping and mining processes.

  • Lutz #74 8 years ago

    I find that the interface does have an overview, the "R" key. From here I manage everything. I can scroll down to any ship to give it commands, check on a station to see how it's stocks are doing etc…
    And yes, the short cut keys help a lot. In fact it's the only way I play now. I think I've memorised the whole lot! :D

  • Steel #75 8 years ago

    Picked this one up on release day on the strength of the previous two games which I really enjoyed. Haven't had a chance to play it just yet but FWIW one of my friends played it for a bit and is now looking to spend some hundreds of pounds on upgrading his PC to get it to run better, he's that hooked... Based on comments from other people here I guess this one is a "suck it and see game" though, ie down to personal taste so try before you buy :)

  • Lutz #76 8 years ago

    Mad Commander: Your graphics card is letting you down. What settings are you running?
    BTW, the final mission against the M) Khaak ship is not hell in space. Hell in space is Freespace 2. the closest X2 gets to hell in space is a bit of heat in the Xenon sectors

  • ThwartedEfforts #77 8 years ago

    I'd love to know how you can get a kick out of a game with only you in it. Egosoft have been talking of a multiplayer expansion but I doubt it'll surface.

  • Daryoon #78 8 years ago

    Eh, I think most people play games on their own...

  • Lutz #79 8 years ago

    Thwarted Efforts... WTF are you on about?

  • Lutz #80 8 years ago

    I assume you mean the secotr north of Black Hole Sun? If so: Yeah, don't.

    That sector houses the only Xenon Station. If you kill it the xenon will slowly be wiped out of the universe, not good. This may have been fixed for 1.4, but even best case scenario the thing will respawn, constanly chuck ships at you. M1s and M2s.

    If you want a pure empty sector then build in one of the 5 unknown sectors.

  • Lutz #81 7 years ago

    No probs! Any more probs post here, or better go to the Egosoft forums and in the general forum for English look for a stickied thread called "The ultimate guide for everything"

    It's full of tips collected from teh community.

    Check out teh argonopedia too.

  • Lutz #82 7 years ago

    You'll have problems soon enough. IIRC Thrynns Abyss get's hammered, and although the Split can hold their own they'll slowly get whitteled down. At the moment the Split M2 is only fighting one Xenon M2, and the Split will win. But if 2 Xenon M2s, or an M2 and an M1 travel at the same time then they'll destroy the Split M2 and start on the rest of the sector. It's been known for a whole sector to be destroyed this way.

    Never destroy the Station, and if you want to fight Xenon M1s and M2s only take out the ones in the Sector that has the main Station in it. The ones north of Getsu Fune etc, leave alone... And whatever you do don't tackle the sector near Eighteen Billion... :)

  • Lutz #83 7 years ago

    By the way, if you want a REALLY good fire fight with the Xenon update to patch 1.4 and look for the Xenon invasion missions... or the Xenon Escort Missions.

    Veteran and Supreme Veteran Levels you can be attacked by as many as 5 Xenon M2 Destroyers. At the same time.

  • Lutz #84 7 years ago

    If the bases have respawned then you must be on Patch 1.4 IIRC.

    Try and find a mission on the BBS boards about a xenon invasion.

  • Lutz #85 7 years ago

    The Xenon missions needing a passenger are standard, and there's a nice twist to them if your combat rank is VERY high.

    The invasion ones are much rarer, but I hear you can get millions of cr for completing them. You'll probably need an M6 to do it though, unless you're a kick arse pilot in a Perseus (3x APSG will be needed)

    The "Select mod package" is Ronseal mate, does what it says on the tin. If you've downloaded a mod package and it's in your X2 root folders then it'll be highlighted as normal, and you can enable mods.

    You can of course create your own mods and scripts too, then run them from here. I tested out an early Beta mod for Beam Lasers, but it wasn't too good at that stage. Still, it's good to know that the game is very mod friendly. Keep an eye out for the expansion back, which is pencilled in for November IIRC. It's called X2 - The Return. There's an article on it here at Eurogamer.

  • Lutz #86 7 years ago

    Yeah, the twist is the M6.
    The assassination missions USED to be a TL with 3 M3 escorts. Now you cne get as many as 5 M6s and 4 M3s for your trouble.

    Glad to see you chose the Mamba, the true fighter pilots vehicle of destruction. ;)

    I've taken out 3 Hydras and a pair of Barracudas in a Mamba before now. Bare in mind that the Hydra has double of triple the shielding of the Dragon... Do not underestimate the power of Mass Drivers.

    Mod package? I'm not sure what the files are, but you have to download them off fansites or from the Egosoft forums. I wouldn't use any that are cheats though. Aspiring to your own fully kitted out M2 is MUCH more rewarding if you've traded, robbed, bounty hunted and pillaged every credits worth. Any monkey can whack 200 million cr in their account with a mod package.

    Some ARE good though, as they help balance the game and add to it. IIRC the bext is called XAI, or XI. Meant to be really good stuff.

    How are you doing with factories? What have you got and where?

  • Lutz #87 7 years ago

    The 1.4 update doesn't affect the story line one jot, although it may make it a bit tougher.

    Good set up in KE, but if I were you I'd try and stock all the 25mw shields you can. IIRC there's only 2 of them in the universe, and you may decide you'll want them later on. Put a TP in there and transfer the stock every few hours.

    Looks like you're doing good though!

    You're also getting the basics of a loop, "Free energy" going. You can set up enough factories so that effectivly your SPP's don't buy crystals from anyone but you and make a massive profit. The best factories though don't need sellers. Put an SPP in Lucky Planets, whack the selling price to 21 and buy crystals at 1684 and watch the cash coe ROLLING in. Set a Manta to buy the crystals, give it 75mw of shields and a 4 jump radius and you're laughing.

    2 right and one down of PE… is… Redlight? Or Home of Light. One of the two. Great secotrs them, ideal for selling energy, crystals and silicon.

    Lasertowers are only good in bulk, you'll need about a dozen of them to be effective, but they have been improved dramatically since 1.3

    In all honesty you've got more advanced facts than I have. I've got more, but I've got a lot of the same, dealing in Cells & Food mainly.

    Have you tried any MKIII traders?

    Nemesis and Centaurs are good patrol ships to have. Not that I'd know as I have no M6s, I chuck all my cash into factories. I've got a good supply of personal ships though. (3 mobile miners (Demeters) 2 TPs for trading, a Pegasus for speed, Mamba, Nova and Persues for fighting and a disco and Orinoco for shuttling cargo around the universe) My next target is a TL. You say you have an Odyseus for setting up facts... But that's an M1? Don't you mean a Hercules? That's what I'm after, but need £20million.

    You use a Python to take out bases?! Christ, overkill! Try it in a Nova or Mamba! :D

    I've just read how come you have so much money, overnight SETA. I've never done that, earned each credit myself! :) I'm Ace 1st grade though, and advanced Mogul I think...

  • Lutz #88 7 years ago

    There is indeed. To do this you take your own sense of humour, remove all traces of fun from it (THis only takes about 3 nanoseconds) coat it in razor wire and then you bugger yourself silly with it, not stopping until you've thought of something better to do with you life than make fucking stupid posts on an internet site.

    Good advice, no?

  • Lutz #89 7 years ago

    Try the Hercules, it can carry much more than an Ody: The station, plus the goods, plus the ships. :)

    When fighting a pirate base park your M3 outside the door. As pirates come out they'll get fried before they can retaliate. You get the combat ranking plus the kill for the station. Takes a while mind. As you say it's easy, so if you want some challenge I'd really try using the M3's more. Try fighting in the Xenon sector North of BHS in a Perseus. :)

  • Lutz #90 7 years ago

    /suspects sock puppet.

  • Lutz #91 7 years ago

    /sets fire to sock puppet.

  • Lutz #92 7 years ago

    Yeah, that's pretty true. When the Khaak M3s are near populated space they suaully have a target, so ignore you until you fire on them. Out in space where there is no-one they pick you as their prime target, as you're the only thing near them.

    The Khaak use a Kyon Emitter. The M5 uses an Alpha, the M4 uses 2 Betas and the M3 uses 3 Betas. The M2s use Gammas. Not sure about the M1.

    You cna't buy them anywhere, but you CAN capture Khaak ships (M3, M4 & M5 only) in 1.4

    Tricky, but do-able. Worth a MINT too.

  • Lutz #93 7 years ago

    Easy.

    As I'm sure you're aware the Dragon has low shields, and the Osprey has high shields, with the Centaur, Nemesis and Hydra all having middle class shields. However they've all got approx the same hull.

    Mass Drivers.

    Mass Drivers are your friend.
    Edited by 1 at 13/10/04 @ 14:38

  • Lutz #94 7 years ago

    AFAIK, no. If you're using MD's then you can't cap.

    However one trick is to use MD's to get the hull down to 87% then just keep attacking with Ions. They'll *eventually* bail.

  • Lutz #95 7 years ago

    I've pounded on an M6's shields for about 30 minutes without it bailing though...