Storywise, do I need to play Space Rangers 1 before playing Space Rangers 2?

[Goodsport]

I just bought Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators, also includes the first Space Rangers that was never previously released here in the U.S.

While it's probably not technically necessary to play SR1 before playing SR2, would it help me understand the story of the sequel better to play SR1 first? Or can I simply jump straight to SR2 without missing out on much storywise?


-G

 

[Goodsport]

Does this video set the proper inspiration and tone for Space Rangers 2?

Granted, it's a music video rather than a movie (and one that's Molvanîan rather than Russian), but both the music video and the game are sci-fi and space travel themed, right?


-G

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

You can jump right in. And I'd recommend it. SR1 is mostly a subset of SR2 (but pretty buggy IME) and you're apt to get burned out on SR1 before getting to 2, which has the same stuff and more, plus didn't seem as troublesome to me.

Hint: You can dawdle in SR2 a fair bit, but it is possible to dig yourself a hole you can't dig out of and not realize. Save often -- you may find after playing for 40 hours that the tide turned in hour 20.

 

[Goodsport]

You can jump right in. And I'd recommend it. SR1 is mostly a subset of SR2 (but pretty buggy IME) and you're apt to get burned out on SR1 before getting to 2, which has the same stuff and more, plus didn't seem as troublesome to me.

Hint: You can dawdle in SR2 a fair bit, but it is possible to dig yourself a hole you can't dig out of and not realize. Save often -- you may find after playing for 40 hours that the tide turned in hour 20.

Thanks for the info, Rodrigo.

I've noticed that this game took fourth overall in GameSpy's 2006 PC Game of the Year catogory. Is the game that good?


-G

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Thanks for the info, Rodrigo.

I've noticed that this game took fourth overall in GameSpy's 2006 PC Game of the Year catogory. Is the game that good?


-G

It was an unexpected pleasure. Unlike a lot of games it came out of nowhere, so there was no hype or buildup, and hence little opportunity for disappointment. It's a lot of fun, and well worth the $30 IMO.

There was an excellent game that came out in the 80s called 'Starflight'. This is, to many, an spiritual descendent of that game.

 

[Goodsport]

It was an unexpected pleasure. Unlike a lot of games it came out of nowhere, so there was no hype or buildup, and hence little opportunity for disappointment. It's a lot of fun, and well worth the $30 IMO.

There was an excellent game that came out in the 80s called 'Starflight'. This is, to many, an spiritual descendent of that game.

Thanks again, Rodrigo.

I can't wait to dive right in and play it, though I'll probably have to wait until the weekend to have enough time to.

But how come there hadn't been more of that type of game since 'Starflight' (just wondering)?


-G

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I think you haven't seen more because the various genres became more distinct and developers more constrained. Starflight was part RPG, part adventure game, part proto-4x, part proto-RTS. As each of those elements developed into their own niche, you started to see less genre-bridging stuff. Too bad, IMO, because there were other games in that early era that I sgtill rank among the best gaming experiences I've ever had (eg, Sentinels, among others).

Eventually, the elements of a 4x game or RTS or whatever became so written in stone that there was little room for other stuff. You do see some attempts -- Spellforce did a darn good job of blending RPG and RTS, I think, but for the most part developers have been focusing on evolutionary improvements within a genre rather than trying something new.

To be fair, though, there were a lot of 'you got your peanut butter in my chocolate' type moments, too, where a good idea was spoiled by crappy execution. Since the marketing weenies don't bother to determing whether a game sells poorly because of the concept or because of the execution, it doesn't take too many failures for something new to become poison.