Review Codex reviews Space Rangers 2

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Space Rangers 2: Dominators

Still not sure if <a href=http://www.elementalgames.com/eng/r_all.php>Space Rangers 2: Dominators</a> is worthy of your attention? <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=126>Let us help you</a>:
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<blockquote>The Space Rangers 2’s impressive and very beautiful 200+ planet universe is dynamic and alive: pirates attack ships, ships form brief alliances and attack pirates; the Dominators open up black holes and attack planet systems; the Rangers defend systems they still have and attack systems they’ve lost, sometimes recovering them, sometimes not; space bases are being destroyed and built (you can even finance the building of one). You are thrown in the middle of all that goodness, and what you do is really up to you. You can try your skills in trade, piracy, planet exploration via probes, diplomacy via text quests, and of course, you can help the good guys fight the good fight.</blockquote>

 

[bryce777]

This game is the best game to come out in years.

I remember when I decided to eliminate all my fellow rangers during one game to make the fight more challenging, and the alternatingly pitiful and selfrighteous response as they begged or appealed to my sense of patriotism actually made me feel bad enough to where I stopped attacking them.

In another game, I financed a squadron of gaalian fighters. Later, earth got invaded and taken over and I was trying to win it back. After the third try I decided I just didn't have the equipment to stand up to them yet and was about to retreat for good, when suddenly a fleet of gaalaians warp into the system right next to me with names like bryce 637347 and I realized these were the fighters *I* had built, coming just in time to help me liberate earth. A pretty astounding thing to have happen without scripting....

 

[Vault Dweller]

Yep. The best thing about the game is all kinda cool stories, like the one above, that could happen to you. The universe really seems alive and responsive.

 

[Screaming_life]

Perfect review for this game: a list of cool stuff you can do!

One thing i really liked (and i'm not sure if it's just me or if it does actually happen) is the way that new technology when first introduced is very bulky but over time it seems to become refined and take up less space. It feels very natural and real.


I did think trading should have been rewarded with XP though to give it more worth than just a means to make money to buy stuff. I think every other play style rewards you with XP, trading should too. Having said that, i think there was a Russian patch that added it... not sure if we'll ever get it though.

 

[bryce777]

Well, when you trade, over time you will be getting into battles, fending off dominators, etc.

The only problem I have with trading and mining is that over time equipment becomes exponentially more expensive, but trade goods only increase linearly.


I do love how the tech works, which can make it worth i to use an older hull if it has a ludicrous capaciy for hauling loot. For my little brain, configuring a ship with the right hull and items over time is unbelievable fun.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

The game is also very accessible. Some people may be put off initally because it's some wacky turn-based game, but once they get into it they're stuck for life. The game mechanics are presented clearly to you and the fundamentals aren't that difficult to learn at all. The hardest part about the game is not doing anything stupid (Like, say, going through a Dominator-infested system with only a dinky little pirate ship like I've done on occasion).

I can't get enough of this game.

 

[mathboy]

Should one get it now or wait and try to import the American release that might happen, hoping that they will retranslate the game and get rid of StarForce?

(Space Rangers 1 is included in the European release, right? Is it any good?)

 

[Naked_Lunch]

Space Rangers 1 is okay, but there's no need to play it if you have 2.

They won't get rid of StarForce, but they are retranslating and localizing the game I believe.

 

[mathboy]

When will it be done? And will Europeans be able to use their translation? (Or is there any good game-selling sites that ship to Europe?) Thank you!

 

[HotSnack]

When will it be done? And will Europeans be able to use their translation? (Or is there any good game-selling sites that ship to Europe?) Thank you!

Play.com has it, and it ships to a number of European countries.

 

[Nightjed]

i doubt theyll get rid of starforce, if anything theyll add rootkits and enhance the banlist to include hentai and gay videos, oh yeah and delete all your mp3s,avis,oggs and jpgs ... just in case!, just think of it as "preemptive client ass-raping"

Jokes aside, the reviews sounds just too good to be true, its like what moo3 should have been, too bad my chances to get an import of a new game here are lower than bush spending the whole pentagon budget on food for africa (can you believe they started selling ps2s this year as if they were a new thing in argentina ? and at the price in dollars they had when they WERE new in usa).

 

[bryce777]

i doubt theyll get rid of starforce, if anything theyll add rootkits and enhance the banlist to include hentai and gay videos, oh yeah and delete all your mp3s,avis,oggs and jpgs ... just in case!, just think of it as "preemptive client ass-raping"

Jokes aside, the reviews sounds just too good to be true, its like what moo3 should have been, too bad my chances to get an import of a new game here are lower than bush spending the whole pentagon budget on food for africa (can you believe they started selling ps2s this year as if they were a new thing in argentina ? and at the price in dollars they had when they WERE new in usa).

I got it frm play.com or wherever, and I think they will ship to most countries.

It's high praise, but I honestly think it is better than moo 1 or 2. It is really nothing at all like them, though. It is more like the gameplay of pirates! blended with darklands set in space. that sounds crazy and hard to believe, but it's true.

 

[RuySan]

its a good game, but there's room for improvement. The battles are a bit simplistic, and sometimes you can only see how good is a weapon after using it (damage is not enough)

And i could live without the RTS and text adventure parts (most are boring trial-and-error),

 

[mathboy]

I was wondering about the American version, because play.com seems UKan. Also how does language and stuff work? Is it just a file to replace?

 

[bryce777]

I was wondering about the American version, because play.com seems UKan. Also how does language and stuff work? Is it just a file to replace?

Yeah, and I was actually planning to clean up the grammar a bit as a fan patch since some people complained but I have (as usual) gotten swept away by other projects.

 

[Elwro]

To think that some people consider RPGCodex a site filled with negativity...

Anyway, a good read! Of course, I didn't need convincing because I'm playing the game already... The Polish version doesn't have Starforce but also doesn't include SR1.

 

[bryce777]

To think that some people consider RPGCodex a site filled with negativity...

Anyway, a good read! Of course, I didn't need convincing because I'm playing the game already... The Polish version doesn't have Starforce but also doesn't include SR1.

Well, if this were 1993 then we would be fileld with incredible excitement. It's the shitty games at fault, not just that we are all mindless drones who whine for no reason.

 

[Elwro]

I know :D

 

[Seven]

I actually got the game and enjoyed it emmensely, but StarForce fucked me pretty bad--I had to reformat and reinstall and I don't think that I'll ever install any thing on my system that has StarForce ever again. So basically, I have this great game that I paid for, but can't play, all-in-all I feel pretty shitty.

 

[roguefrog]

I'm sort of tempted to go back and replay it. It's an incredible game. I'm playing Mount&Blade which is cool but doesn't have the dynamic trading system or anywhere near the amount of cool features in SR2. I know it's still beta but it would be cool if it had half the amount of stuff SR2 had.

 

[Data4]

Starforce? God dammit, now I know I won't play this game. Fucking hell, I hope the recent Slashdotting of Starforce's asshattery causes game publishers to take notice.

-D4

 

[aboyd]

This may be an odd question, but... does anyone know of gameplay videos for this game? I mean, something like a solid 15 to 30 minutes of gameplay footage.

I ask because I bought the game and actually didn't like it. But the reason I didn't like it is because after 10 hours my ship was barely improved and nothing plotwise had happened at all. I believe I simply don't understand how people are playing it and getting such good stories.

So if anyone has some gameplay footage, showing some successful progress in plot or ship enhancements, let me know. I think once I see how someone else plays, I'll probably catch on.

-Tony

 

[Jon]

This may be an odd question, but... does anyone know of gameplay videos for this game? I mean, something like a solid 15 to 30 minutes of gameplay footage.

I ask because I bought the game and actually didn't like it. But the reason I didn't like it is because after 10 hours my ship was barely improved and nothing plotwise had happened at all. I believe I simply don't understand how people are playing it and getting such good stories.

So if anyone has some gameplay footage, showing some successful progress in plot or ship enhancements, let me know. I think once I see how someone else plays, I'll probably catch on.

-Tony

It is quite difficult to make progress in the beginning. One of the best ways I found was to jump into systems where there is currently warfare, scavenge any loot lying about then jump out. If you get attacked just run away until you have lots of uprgaded parts.

 

[Freethis]

Wheee, Space Rangers 2: http://kotaku.com/gaming/starforce/kotaku-letters-starforce-csr-nightmare-160351.php

 

[Halenthal]

Yeah, the Starforce sucks by being there. However, I haven't encountered any noticeable problems with it, though. If not for Silent Hunter 3 and Space Rangers 2, I'd still be Starforce-free, but...


SR2 is a game where you absolutely must start off slow. Real slow. Avoid fights, avoid missions that result in you killing something. It's just not happening in the early game. As one poster said, they had something like two lasers and a missile launcher to attack ships with. Sorry, it's just not happening-lasers completely and totally suck versus ships, and missile launchers, while a great weapon, aren't ship killers, they're long range ship damagers so your other real short range weapons can finish them off.

Do the Fedex missions. Drop probes on planets and pick up the loot later. Watch the news for good trade deals. Swoop into sectors where the Doms are getting attacked, loot the floating goods, and run away.

Yes, there are larger hulls, but they are expensive. The search feature lets you find out what planet has hulls that may be better than yours, though to be perfectly frank, your starting hull is damn good-it has all the equipment slots and a couple of weapon slots. Not all hulls support all the different types of equipment.

Don't forget your skills. They make quite a difference in how much damage you do, how much you take and how much you make from missions. With maxed charisma, it's not unusual to get a FedEx mission that pays well over 10k.