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Every now
and then you bring a game home from the local software
store not expecting very much. Maybe it’s a game you’ve
never even heard of, but there were no ultra-hyped new
releases or even an amazing deal on an older game.
Regardless, you get it home and unlike most new purchases
you’re not even all that psyched about loading it up.
You finally do get around to installing it and actually
playing it. Then 2 hours later you realize how much time
has gone by and think to yourself, “god damn! this game
is amazing! How could i not have heard anything about it?!”
Conquest: Frontier Wars is that type of game (developed
by Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame). Call it an
under-dog, call it a sleeper, call it what you like, but
Conquest: Frontier Wars is one of those rare finds,
which delivers much more than expected.
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From its understated, relatively plain white box, it’s hard to tell
how much gaming goodness waits inside. At its core, C:FW
is a traditional real time strategy game. Similar to
Starcraft, there are 3 distinct races: the terrans, mantis
and celareons. Also, reminiscent of Starcraft all 3 races
play completely differently. You build bases, gather resources
and amass massive armies. What makes C:FW any different from
hundreds of Starcraft and Command & Conquer wannabes? In a word,
Wormholes. Wormholes allow you to jump your starships from one
sector of the galaxy to another. Gameplay wise these different
sectors constitute completely different game maps, with different
resources and planets. You can instantly jump from sector to
sector with just a click. This allows you to wage war on up to
sixteen different maps at the same time. Talk about intense!
You may be winning a battle on one map while the other half of
your fleet is being decimated on another map. It would seem
impossible to manage all of this action at once, but thanks to
an ingenious interface, which constantly warns of attacks in
other sectors, makes it all easy to handle.
C:FW also introduces the concept of supply line management and
AI admirals to the rts genre. All ships have a limited amount
of energy. When they run out of energy, they’re no longer able
to attack and are essentially defenseless. You must then return
them to a planet with a headquarters or a supply depot. You can
also use supply ships to remotely re-supply your fleet.
This makes it critical to defend your jump-gates (built around
wormholes), which prevent the enemy from warping into one of your
controlled systems. The AI admirals will effectively manage a
fleet of ships on another map that you are not currently viewing.
This makes it much easier to wage a full scale, multiple star system war.
I couldn’t help but compare the experience of playing C:FW to the epic
“Hyperion” series of novels. The stargates in cfw are identical to the
farcaster portals used by the world web in hyperion. I’m sure that my
immersion into the game was helped along by my memory of the “hyperion”
novels. I’d highly recommend those books before, during or after you
play this incredible game, but the experience won’t be diminished if
you choose to skip them.
C:FW allows you to play out and not just watch or read one of the coolest
scenarios in sci-fi. You’re distant, sparsely defended star system is under
a sneak attack by an overwhelming enemy fleet. Your small defending force
is running low on energy, they’re wiping you out and there’s no hope of
reinforcements reaching you in time. Then, low and behold, a massive fleet
of friendly ships warps in through a wormhole, surrounding the attacking
enemy ships and ripping them to shreds in a cross fire of corvettes,
battleships and hundreds of carrier based fighters. You’ve watched similar
scenes in movies and shows from battlestar galactica to star wars, but C:FW
is the first game to capture the feeling of commanding an interstellar fleet.
And that feeling is truly awesome.
The ability to zoom in and out on the 3d action, while not as impressive as
Homeworld, is a welcome addition to the game. The graphics overall are pretty
stunning. Ships, planets and asteroid fields are highly detailed. The addition
of different nebula, which can affect your ships in positive or negative ways,
adds beauty to otherwise empty star fields.
Overall, the game adds some significant new twists to the rts genre. The closest
thing in comparison would be Homeworld, but this game is much easier to pick up
and play. If you’re a fan of sci-fi rts games and have always wanted to command
a massive starship fleet, then this game is a must have.
Gamer42's Rating:
4.5 out of 5 Planets
Talk about
Conquest: Frontier Wars>> |
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Buy It @
amazon.com |
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