🚀 go-pugleaf

"Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:srb2m15ors5qa3k04q14mgu75ajmpsog9b@4ax.com...
> I'll probably pop out at lunchtime and snag a copy.  The quite stunning
> visuals are certainly the initial draw but I hope they have added more 
> things
> to do in the game this time around. The ship designs are nice, with one or 
> two
> reminding me of the Earth cruisers from Babylon 5. I am also glad they 
> appear
> to have dropped the very silly looking ball weapons from the first two,
> replacing them with beams instead. Hopefully there will be some cutting 
> beam
> weapons in there as well for some of the larger capital ships. The only 
> two
> things I have read about it so far that I don't like is that there are no
> cockpit views and the UK release, by Deep Silver I think, uses Starforce.
> Missing cockpit views seems like a small thing to some people I guess but 
> for
> me it just seemed more "realistic" to be peering through a canopy, seeing 
> the
> struts holding the cockpit in place. The Starforce thing again may not 
> bother
> some people but I would rather it not be there at all but there you go. It
> seems like the only alternative would be to wait for the 5th November and 
> get
> the US version imported. Rumours are that this won't use it but no details 
> on
> what it DOES use. Either way at worst it will be an interesting diversion 
> for
> a few weeks, and lets be honest there isn't exactly a lot else out there 
> at
> the moment, but maybe, just maybe it could be what we have all been 
> waiting
> for, at least until the next rewrite of BC gets released! ;-)

I'm taking a pass till it's in U.S. retail outlets....then I'll wait for the 
price to drop before I consider it.  I don't think I can bite on this 
franchise again, unless I read lots of great reviews (on usenet...not on 
sites).

Starforce is not great, but if you want to play some very good games (i.e., 
SH3 and, especially, Space Rangers 2....which is my personal GOTY), you've 
got to put up with it.  Games coming out of eastern Europe seem to favor 
Starforce (which is, after all, Russian developed) and that's where the 
innovative games seem to be coming from these days.....not the tired, 
endlessly rehashed crap produced by western developers.  But, hey, that's 
just my opinion. :)

Also, unless I'm mistaken, the English version of Parkan II is due out for 
the holidays.....and this is definitely a "must have."  The Russian 
version's been out since c. June, but I'm not seeing much about the English 
version.