Game: Colony Wars
Genre: Space Combat Sim
Format: Sony Playstation [PSX]
Developer: Psygnosis
Release Date: ALL November 4, 1997
Ports: None
Genre: Space Combat Sim
Format: Sony Playstation [PSX]
Developer: Psygnosis
Release Date: ALL November 4, 1997
Ports: None
THEN:
Once upon a time, I happened upon a Playstation title in the bargain bin at a shopping mall while out of town called "Colony Wars". While I had played Vengeance and Red Sun, I'd never gotten to see the first, plus it came in the old classic huge box case PSX games used to come in, so of course I bought that baby ASAP. It now occupies a place right next to Battle Arena Toshinden 2, which likewise came in an old style box.
At least, it did until now. I need a break from survival horror and third-person shooting, and Psygnosis' gem is just the thing I need to blow off some steam.
Back in their heyday, Space Combat Simulators were about a dime a dozen. Which was in no way a bad thing, since the quality of such games typically came in two types;
1.) Your run of the mill, fun for an afternoon space combat sim.
2.) Your epic, sprawling, hard science fiction Space Combat Sim.
Some of the most well known Space Combat Sims are X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Wing Commander, and the Descent: Freespace series. Guess which type those fall under.
Occasionally, however, you got a SCS that broke the mold, one that landed somewhere between the two types shown above, a game like Colony Wars.
Colony Wars combined the hard science fiction and used future aesthetics of many PC Space Combat Sims and adds it to easy to master console controls and a sprawling storyline with multiple story paths and endings depending on your actions. It also incorporated the insanely awesome voice talent of James Earl Jones as the games narrator/player character (sp?)
It bears mentioning that Colony Wars and CWIII: Red Sun are VASTLY different in pretty much everything from tone to setting. While alien races pop up everywhere in Red Sun, CW focuses on the Earth Navy/League conflict exclusively (Except for in one of the secret endings). In this setting, humanity may or may not have even encountered any other spacefaring species as of yet.
That's enough rambling about the game for now, though. Let's get playing it. Enjoy me blowing up everything from space junk to Capital ships while my sleep deprived addle-minded brain completely fails a lecture on space travel while still recovering from Parasite Eve.
_________________
At least, it did until now. I need a break from survival horror and third-person shooting, and Psygnosis' gem is just the thing I need to blow off some steam.
Back in their heyday, Space Combat Simulators were about a dime a dozen. Which was in no way a bad thing, since the quality of such games typically came in two types;
1.) Your run of the mill, fun for an afternoon space combat sim.
2.) Your epic, sprawling, hard science fiction Space Combat Sim.
Some of the most well known Space Combat Sims are X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Wing Commander, and the Descent: Freespace series. Guess which type those fall under.
Occasionally, however, you got a SCS that broke the mold, one that landed somewhere between the two types shown above, a game like Colony Wars.
Colony Wars combined the hard science fiction and used future aesthetics of many PC Space Combat Sims and adds it to easy to master console controls and a sprawling storyline with multiple story paths and endings depending on your actions. It also incorporated the insanely awesome voice talent of James Earl Jones as the games narrator/player character (sp?)
It bears mentioning that Colony Wars and CWIII: Red Sun are VASTLY different in pretty much everything from tone to setting. While alien races pop up everywhere in Red Sun, CW focuses on the Earth Navy/League conflict exclusively (Except for in one of the secret endings). In this setting, humanity may or may not have even encountered any other spacefaring species as of yet.
That's enough rambling about the game for now, though. Let's get playing it. Enjoy me blowing up everything from space junk to Capital ships while my sleep deprived addle-minded brain completely fails a lecture on space travel while still recovering from Parasite Eve.
_________________
NOT QUITE AS THEN:
Well, as the description read, I was coming off of a playthrough of Parasite Eve when I started this abomination of decision making. But that's not all, I had just come off of a long string of Survival Horror playthroughs, from the deprivation of Dino Crisis, to the obtuse nonsense of Code Veronica, to a second (or maybe third) run through Resident Evil 5, and finally through an epic 130+ video long trek through the extraordinary original Parasite Eve. Survival Horror being what it is, there was no small deal of shell shock involved when I began this fool's errand in an ill-advised attempt to reassemble my sanity after braving the Chrysler building and completing Parasite Eve no fewer than four times in one playthrough.
Colony Wars wasn't about to let me off easy, as I would despairingly discover later on. Between constant technical difficulties, the absolute zero warning that the disk needed to be changed, and the paper thin hulls of escortee ships would leave me an absolute psychological mess, the whole ordeal inevitably culminated in my having to escape into another Survival Horror title (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, to be specific) before the wounds could finally heal.
Well, as the description read, I was coming off of a playthrough of Parasite Eve when I started this abomination of decision making. But that's not all, I had just come off of a long string of Survival Horror playthroughs, from the deprivation of Dino Crisis, to the obtuse nonsense of Code Veronica, to a second (or maybe third) run through Resident Evil 5, and finally through an epic 130+ video long trek through the extraordinary original Parasite Eve. Survival Horror being what it is, there was no small deal of shell shock involved when I began this fool's errand in an ill-advised attempt to reassemble my sanity after braving the Chrysler building and completing Parasite Eve no fewer than four times in one playthrough.
Colony Wars wasn't about to let me off easy, as I would despairingly discover later on. Between constant technical difficulties, the absolute zero warning that the disk needed to be changed, and the paper thin hulls of escortee ships would leave me an absolute psychological mess, the whole ordeal inevitably culminated in my having to escape into another Survival Horror title (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, to be specific) before the wounds could finally heal.
Oh, right. And it isn't James Earl Jones in the intro, but a remarkably convincing sound-alike. Somehow that takes quite a bit out of the magic of the games opening, for some reason.
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