Legends of Pegasus
Preview
Gamescom 2011: Space exploration to make you smile like Kirk
by Chris Priestman
previewed on PC
Prepare For Battle
The real-time battles in Legends of Pegasus are built from the ground up. Starting with a base model for each ship, the player can research and find extra modules to tailor their ships to their will. These bring along different weapons and extra functions that the ship can perform and will be essential to strengthen your fleet. Once again, going further than just being military focused, there are various civilian ships to be built that perform specific functions. The high level of detail in the ships not only lies within the statistical feedback, but also in the visuals. Each different module is visible on every ship upon zooming in, and while doing so the player will see a 3D rendition of their ship that has a tactile abundance about it.
With all of these customization options, players are bound to feel it in the gut when their ships and planets are attacked, thus making them that more tense. This will be complimented by the dynamic music and voice-overs that react to the situation as it unfolds in an attempt to relieve players of the repetitive sound design of other games. Entering into an instance, the real-time space battles offer a challenge for beginners and veterans due to the divergent tactical settings. The developers want to make the game accessible to everyone no matter their skill level, and are hoping to deliver a deep experience for all. The space battles are mostly standard practice but preparation and having an adaptive fleet will be key to victory.
Ah, My Fleet!
Novacore wants to offer much more than just a single player campaign, and they have done this by developing an extensive multiplayer mode. Not confining players to the human race, the multiplayer mode offers three different races and twelve playable factions to charge into space with. The goal of each faction will be to spread their dominance over the galaxy by terraforming planets, developing large fleets and hunting down opponents. Not so different to the single player then. But with alien technologies to discover and the diversity of playing human opponents, this could be one of the deepest and most enjoyable multiplayer player strategy games of recent years.
More good news comes in the form of modding support, and not just that, but the developers are showing a keen focus on community made maps and missions. Novacore is pushing for a large community and they seem to know how to go about it. The game is clearly in early development and the proposed release date for early 2012 seems unlikely. They have showcased a strong game to us and the depth and detail of the game in both the micro-managing and visuals certainly left us hopeful. If met with the same high quality at release, there seems to be no reason that Legends of Pegasus would not gain an adoring fan base.
