Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

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Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space review
Headrock

Review

No aspect is lacking

Weapons of Mass Destruction


If there is one thing better in Weird Worlds than trading for a valuable artifact it would be the chance to acquire a devastating weapon. There are over 25 different kinds of guns in the game, each with its own range, advantages and disadvantages. Outfitting your ship with the best weapons isn't always enough to ensure a victory, but it sure does bolster your confidence.

The main difference between ships however is in their firing arcs. Each ship's status screen shows the firing arcs of all its weapons. This means that a ship with a long-range missile on its left weapon pod and a Gatling laser on its right pod will turn its left side to large enemies far away and present its right side to any fighters that may be closing in.

Most ships can fire both weapons forward and some ships such as fighters can only fire their weapons forward. The science vessel is particularly annoying since it can only fire forwards and to the left leaving it defenseless on the right.

Space Combat can be dirty business


Space Combat is played as a mini-game and is reminiscent of Star Control or Rules of Engagement. The player is given a 2-D representation of the battlefield and left-clicks are required to tell the ships what to do. The best thing about combat is that while takes place in real-time it can be paused. This is a feature I adore in any real-time game. Commands can be given freely in paused mode.

Battle is primarily oriented around maneuvering your ship so that the best weapons are aimed at the enemy while staying outside the arc or range of their weapons. Unfortunately for most encounters, outmaneuvering the enemy can be very tricky and until you get the hang of it you will probably see a lot of long fights. Once you learn to avoid certain encounters until your ship is powerful enough then you can start by surrounding, decoying, or even tactically retreating to draw your enemies into traps.

The Crowning Jewel


In accordance with its predecessor, Weird Worlds features a completely flawless GUI which is simple to learn and even simpler to use. With only your left mouse button you will not have a problem navigating the very few menus and pop-ups the game has to offer. As you might expect, such a tiny game takes no more than 24 Megabytes of hard drive space. It kind of takes you back to the days of the older Sierra SVGA adventure games. The best thing about being so small is that this is a game you can keep installed on your home or office system and you can play a quick game on a break.

Another upside is that instead of looking for the game in a store, you can Download the demo from Digital Eel and then register it to obtain the key to unlock it.
In this day and age I must say that it is very difficult to rank a game such as this mainly because it is fundamentally different from what is common on the market today. In a world where 3D is a must and elaborate mouse-keyboard controls are required, Weird Worlds might be considered to be a game for the "older" generation.

All that I can say about this game is that in my opinion no aspect of this title is lacking. The graphics, sound and interface are very much appropriate for a game such as this. With a crisp yet simple SVGA graphics engine with plenty of visual effects combined with a smooth flowing story line and good sounds this one certainly hits the high mark in all categories. I give this game an A.

9.0

fun score

No Pros and Cons at this time