The_Onesin
First time out of the vault
What is this game?
- Space Rangers 2 : Dominators is a sequel to Space Rangers 1, which is a space simulation/RPG developed by Elemental Game and released on 2002. The game itself was released in 2005.
Settings?
- In the future where humans have made contacts and allegiance with many alien races, hostile species known as 'The Dominators' invades the galaxy in massive numbers. Their goals are to annihilate all races, conquer all planets, and reign terror upon every sectors. To eradicate the Dominators, all the races come in agreement to create 'Space Rangers', who are skill individuals with great fighting skills and unmatched tactical prowess. You are one of such rangers, and it is up to you to find ways to stop the Dominators.
Features
- Space Rangers 2 is a unique RPG game with hybrid of Space Simulation, Text Adventure, and Real Time Strategy. Normally when the player is out on space with his ship, the game is turn based (although it is possible to switch to Real Time) with turns expressed as 'Days'. Player can cover certain distance or perform certain action in a day, and the actions player can take in a day can affect on his battle power. The days pass really quickly so it is better to measure in terms of week or month when you plan your journey or plan out how to complete the side missions given by the government.
In the beginning of the game, the player has choice of choosing which race he wants to play with, which skills to specialize in, and which attributes to raise. Character development in quite generic 'Attribute, skill, and equipment' formula, and player can select aptitudes to increase when he levels up. Experience points can be earned by completing side missions and destroying any kinds of spaceship.
Also heavy on Space Simulation part, the player can trade, fight, and explore the galaxy. Trade system is pretty simple, but even such simple system shines when the player has to see the news or hear from other pilots about which planet is short on certain supplies. The player is free to do things other than trade as well, such as threatening civilian ships to surrender their belongings, or wage war against the pirates. The player can also persuade other rangers to become his sidekick, making many battle a lot easier to handle. The game also features extensive search system which allows you to navigate through what was on the news, and where the newest components are sold. As the game progresses and depending on contributions made by the rangers, technology also develops to the point where the rangers can use weapons used by the Dominators, and travel between the far sectors in a matter of days.
In regards to the storyline, this game is basically a sandbox game with ultimate objective of simply getting rid of the Dominators. Other objectives can be set by the player himself, such as climbing the ranger ranks, completing all the types of side missions, and even forming his own gang with other ranger sidekicks.
There are also other interesting things to do other than roaming across the galaxy, such as the text adventuring and real time strategy parts. There are many side quests which will suddenly drag the player into classic text adventure context. The player has to make all the choices only with provided text lines, and the game will either reward or punish the player at the end of the adventure. Some of them are downright punishing with insane difficulty, while some are bit more forgiving and rewarding than others. Just be careful though. There can be deaths at the end of these text adventures which means that you will have to reload from the beginning.
The real time strategy part takes place on surface of the planets. The game reminds the player that this is a completely optional part of the game, and the player can choose not to install the RTS part of the game in the installation. Some governors will ask you to command the legion of robot soldiers to fight and take back the planet from the Dominators. Although real time strategy part is arguably the weakest part of the game due to clunky control, interface, and pacing, there are some fun aspects such as complete freedom on designing your own robots and deploying them on the battlefield.
Finally, this game has difficulty scaling system. This means that if you chose the easiest difficulty, Dominators are going to be dumb as fuck while the rangers overpower them, and the galaxy will never be in a conflict. However, as the difficult level increases, Dominators will ACTUALLY invade the star systems, taking over the planets, destroying the space stations, and eventually expanding their territory. At the highest difficulty, you will be able to see the Dominators taking over 50% of the galaxy. When they take over whole galaxy, that of course means game-over for you.
Some things that get in the way
- Even though this is one of such games in which all of its features work really well together, there are some flaws in it.
First of all, the translation can be just awkward in some moments. Because this game is made in Russia, you will very rarely see some Russian lines which were not even translated.
Second, side missions can get repetitive. While there are many interesting side missions, there are also many fetching quests as well.
Other than these two, I really couldn't find major flaws in this game. It's one of those games which is full of charms and amazing contents that just immerse you more and more as you play.
In the end..
- This is probably one of the best game I have ever played, and this always tops the list of my favorite Space Simulation games along with Star Control 2.
This game can be labeled as an excellent RPG as well, this game is absolutely non-linear in reaching your ultimate goal. You can either be a superhero who saves civilians from pirate attacks, while you can also be a notorious pirate who deals with Dominators and rangers in your 'own' way.
Highly recommended.