Black Prophecy
Preview
A new world coming to life
by Ingvi Snædal
previewed on PC
Customizable Experience (cntd)
Soaring through space between massive ships and stations and blowing up vessel after vessel felt great. It felt amazingly similar to how I remembered Freelancer to be, only more action packed. Once the fight was over, I docked with the main station and explored the games customization system. There were not that many choices when it came to beefing out my ship, but then again, I was still playing the prologue. New engines, wings, weapons and cockpits could be purchased, and replacing any one with a different type changed the look of its respective part of the ship. None of the options resulted in an ugly looking ship, but some of them made the design asymmetrical. Being a stickler for symmetry, I sometimes found myself opting for a less powerful engine or wing just to keep both sides of my vessel looking the same.
Choose Your Side
Having played through some missions and upgraded my character, I came to a fork in the road. I could fly to the left and dock at a bulky looking ship resembling a floating soviet brick or, alternatively, to the right and dock with a sleek, aerodynamic looking cruiser who appeared to only be missing the Ducati logo on its side. I thought the thing through extensively and made my decision not on the basis of aesthetics, but of functionality. Having discussed the option with the people playing with me, I decided to go for the soviet looking Tyi rather than the aerodynamic Genides. I am a tank. I like having heaps of armor and loads of high-powered weapons at the cost of losing a bit of speed. That is what I was informed I would get by joining the Tyi, and they were right. The Genides are fast and furious and like piranhas, they hunt in packs. The Tyi on the other hand are slow and bulky, but each and every one of them is a flying fortress by itself.
Once I had chosen my side, I explored the various social aspects of the game. Clans are very important in the game and the clan quickly becomes like a second family to you, but the leaderboard system will probably take precedence. There is nothing particularly new about it – players are ranked by their kill scores and the color of their name shows you which faction they belong to. This board did, however, prove to be the most competitive list of gamers I have experienced in a long time. If a Tyi is on top, every Genide with a figurative jetpack and a pistol will be after him, and vice versa. I found myself spending more than my fair share of hours chasing down players from the other faction, despite being no match for them. You get a sort of patriotic attachment to your faction when looking at the board, and an accompanying sense of pride in seeing a Tyi on top, or anger at seeing a Genide occupying that spot.
In a League of Its Own
The game’s graphics look a bit dated when scrutinized, but the art direction manages to draw your eyes away from the details and focus on the gorgeous world that Reakktor has created for this game. The massive space stations, the style of the vessels you pilot and the enemies you fight all serve to draw you into the world and immerse you in this highly social and exciting game. Many have posed the question: “Will this game finally top EVE Online?.” The answer is simply “No.” It is not trying to compete with EVE. The difference between these games, I would propose, is similar to the difference between Starcraft and Civilization. Both are Space Action games with customizable craft, but EVE is a micro-managing click-and-wait game much like World of Warcraft, whereas Black Prophecy gets the player right into the action. You are piloting the ship, you are pulling the trigger, you are the hero.
As I stated before, I have been playing this game for a while now, and I am very impressed. Reakktor and Gamigo have recently opened their doors for open beta registrations, and I advise anyone remotely interested in giving this game a go to head over there and sign up.
