Miner Wars 2081
Review
Wasted potential
by Preston Dozsa
reviewed on PC
Unique does not always mean precious
Every once in awhile a game comes along that defies your desire to place it within a genre. It has elements of other genres to be sure, but the game is so unique that it just screams how special it is. And you can’t help but become slowly enchanted by it, drawn into its unique mechanics and design. The games that do this are enshrined and remembered fondly by those who have played it. The game that offers a completely new experience is one that should be held in high esteem.
Miner Wars 2081 had the potential to be that game. But somewhere along the line, something went horribly, horribly wrong. Instead of a new and entertaining experience, Miner Wars 2081 provides some of the most frustrating gameplay I’ve experienced all year, coupled with some of the worst design decisions I’ve seen in a very long time. Simply put, Miner Wars 2081 is an extended exercise in frustration.
Cliche characters and story
Miner Wars 2081 is set in, well, outer space in the year 2081. Several years before the events of the game, a scientific experiment turned awry caused the Sun to experience a quantum singularity or something along those lines. This caused the Sun to destroy every planet and extraterrestrial object in the solar system, creating new asteroid belts as a result. Somehow humanity survived and divided into several different factions that now compete for dominance and resources. In short, life in space sucks.
You play as Apollo, a soldier working for the Euro-American Coalition. You’re joined by your brother Marcus and helpful mothership pilot Madelyn. While working at a research facility, the Russians invade and steal some sort of experimental technology. The rest of the story revolves around finding what that technology is and recovering it before it falls into the wrong hands.
I’ll be honest: I never finished the story. Nor would I want to. Cliches abound, and there is nothing unique or even remotely interesting to sustain your interest. Ever the characters scream stereotypes: Apollo is the cool and curious young brother, Marcus is a hot headed soldier who shoots first and asks questions later, and Madelyn is your generic communications officer. There is nothing to connect you to these characters, and it was impossible for me to continue along with the story.
3.0
fun score
Pros
Nice basic premise with lots of potential.
Cons
Uninteresting characters and story, No tutorial, unpolished graphics, long load times.
