Battlestar Galactica
Preview
From the T.V. screen to...the T.V. screen?
by Marko Susimetsä
previewed on PC
Physics and battles in space
The TV series itself goes very far in its attempt to model the physics of space battle and the movement of objects in space. In fact, it was the original intent of the series creators to make the space battles completely silent as well. However, due to studio pressure, they opted for very low-key sound effects instead. So, you will not see space fighters banking and veering aside from their line of attack as if they were flying in atmosphere. It can only be hoped that the game developers recognise these details from the series and, for once, we will have a space dogfight game that will actually follow a set of physics that at least attempts to reflect the reality. Auran Games has already stated that they will be using the sound effects from the series, so at least that side of the space battles should remain close to the original.
The game will allow you to choose your sides when it comes to the survival battle of the remainder of humanity. Would you like to fly one of those mysterious Cylon fighters and beat the frak out of those pesky, smelly meatbags who call themselves human? Or would you like to fly a Colonial Viper and show the toasters who's the real boss? Whichever side you choose, you can fight the battles out in either a single-player mode or in multiplayer mode with your friends (and enemies).
Will we see or hear any of the actors?
Naturally, the first thing that one thinks of when asked about the Battlestar Galactica TV series is the charismatic commander William Adama, played by Edward James Olmos. It has not been confirmed whether the game will include the characters from the series, or even their voice acting, but we can only hope that it will. The immersion into the universe of Battlestar Galactica could never be complete if you did not hear the voices of the original actors. In fact, Auran Games has promised that the sound effects that they will be copying from the series will include the radio chatter ? that could even include the original actors. They also have the likeness rights to the actors themselves, but since most of the game will feature space battles, there will be not much room for character interaction.
So, where will you be getting this one?
The publisher Sierra Entertainment is eager to get this game out to the fans as quickly as possible. Not only are they telling the developers to get it out by fall, they are also bypassing much of the traditional distribution network. In fact, the game will be released as downloadable content to both PC and Xbox Live Arcade and you can acquire it from various websites, such as scifi.com, nbc.com and sierra.com.
Truth to be said, I'm still looking forward to the RPG that Ronald D. Moore mentioned, but I'm sure this shooter will appease some of the fan base and give the publishers more time to work on games that need more development time (before the fans come tearing down their office doors).
