Windows

Echelon

Echelon is a necessity for anyone who loves a sci-fi flight sim romp. It’s got all the ingredients you need to have a good time for a long time. Multiplayer only makes this game all the sweeter. Buy! Buy!! Buy!!!

Sound also plays an important role as NPCs constantly keep you informed of the events at hand. I really didn’t have any expectations for this game, yet it turned into one of the most irresistible PC titles I’ve played in quite some time. If you enjoyed the Wing Commander series, Echelon is right up your alley.

Neste simulador de naves espaciais, você assume o papel de um piloto da Federação Galáctica, cujo principal objetivo é proteger um planeta dos ataques de forças rebeldes, que lutam pela posse de uma importante tecnologia chamada NULO-T (Transporte Nulo). Caso você não obtenha sucesso em sua missão, o caminho estará aberto para que seus inimigos utilizem a tecnologia para o domínio de outros indefesos planetas.

Ondanks een iets te gehaaste afwerking slaagt Echelon toch op sommige punten waar veel concurrenten tekort schieten.

Spannende combatsimulatie met een aangenaam science fiction sfeertje. Van die jongens gaan we nog meer horen!

Echelon is definitely an above-average game, perhaps managing to score good if you place a heavy enough emphasis on the graphics and don't focus as much on the gameplay. Despite the disappointing AI and intense, at times unfair difficulty levels, it is a fun game. However, it's barely playing the same sport, never mind in the same league as FreeSpace 2. Things might be different if multiplayer was accessible and the game wasn't so frustrating at times. There's just something wrong when people say they play an action game for the plot or writing. It's one thing if the game in question is Wing Commander IV, it's a whole different story if it's Echelon. No doubt patching will fix some of the easier-addressed issues, like getting GameSpy or internal browser support, but the interface, difficulty level and poor AI will most likely see only slight improvement. All in all, Echelon is a valiant effort and an entertaining game, but it's no show stopper.

Im Jahr 2250 gibt es wieder einmal Krieg. Zwei überraschend konventionelle Armeen stehen sich im Kampf um einen Planeten gegenüber, und der Spieler soll als frisch ausgebildeter Pilot an den Gefechten teilnehmen. Dabei fliegt er ein schwer bewaffnetes Metallungetüm, dass mit Hilfe etlicher Strahltriebwerke sowohl einen formidable Ersatz für heutige Hubschrauber abgibt.

However, if graphical elements are what really stir your imagination, then you will love this program. Sun flare that blinds, moonscapes that delight and night vision that paints the world in iridescent green all give depth and realism to this game. Whether trying to negotiate a canyon under fire at a high speed in a tutorial, or trying to target without flying in a straight line for too long least you get blown from the sky, Echelon is simply superb graphically.

In all Echelon is a very welcome addition to the flight sim genre. It takes an approach that most other developers have neglected. Still, the execution and design aren't entirely up to the possibility of the concept. You'll play it, you'll enjoy and, ultimately, put it aside for more traditional games that offer a lot more sparkle.

The truly disappointing thing about Echelon is that it could have been a really good game. Sure it looks great, but the gameplay is marred by a few too many quaffs, and as it stands right now, the multiplayer mode is fairly worthless.

Unfortunately, Echelon never really rises above mediocrity in its gameplay either. While it's mildly entertaining at first, the frustrating difficulty level of the single-player campaign and the downright goofy AI will leave you frustrated more often than not. Gorgeousness does not a game make, and Echelon is proof positive of this.

Echelon's main problem is that it appeared too early. It looks as though the programmers just rushed to wrap the game up, eliminating any possibility to get a good background story, and incorporating only the basic Multiplayer options (LAN or Internet, but you'll have to set the IP addresses manually). The scenarios are fun as they offer instant combat, but you still have to bear with enemy and wingmen AI. Computer controlled crafts will frequently crash into terrain or other crafts for no obvious reason.

Warum kriegen es die Entwickler einfach nicht gebacken, den Spieler mit spannenden Zwischensequenzen lange an den Monitor zu fesseln. Denn was nützen mir schon die abwechslungsreichsten Missionen und die tollste Grafik, wenn ich mich mit dem Hauptcharakter einfach nicht identifizieren kann, weil ich nichts über ihn erfahre? Auf Dauer nicht viel, denn wer möchte schon gerne als 08/15-Pilot täglich seinen Hintern riskieren?

Echelon appears to be rushed and is hurt by a weak story, some poorly balanced and designed missions, lack of a fully functional server browser, erratic AI, some hardware compatibility problems, and some bugs. Typos and some poorly written or translated dialogue also mar the game. Still, the gorgeous graphics are quite a sight, and the gameplay gives you a fairly enjoyable "Top Gun meets Star Wars" experience that straddles realism and arcade-style gameplay, while emphasizing the latter. In aiming to meld the two, it doesn't quite get either right, and substance takes a backseat to style. Nevertheless, Echelon does hit close enough to the mark to offer some fast and flashy, but ultimately shallow, thrills.

Echelon didn’t live up to its hype, and although the graphics can keep your eyes interested, the shallow entertainment of air combat will not. There may be plenty of things wrong with it, but Echelon is, however, not an altogether bad game. It’s just not fun. My advice is do some research and try out the demo before plunking down the dough for Echelon.

Da Ratings:

Un titre intéressant et qui offre quelques bonnes sensations pour un temps. On regrettera qu'il ne se renouvelle pas assez et que la difficulté des missions soit souvent en dents de scie alors que l'accent a clairement été mis sur sa maniabilité et ses graphismes ceci parfois au détriment du reste.

Echelon had the potential to be an outstanding futuristic combat flight sim, but graphics aside, several key issues keep it from reaching the level expected of today's sims, such as: a difficult-to-access multiplayer mode, a mediocre interface, poor sound effects, and harder-than-necessary difficulty. Despite being in production for almost two years, Echelon comes across as being rushed to completion and has considerable room for improvement. If public demand is high enough, perhaps some of these issues will be addressed in patches, but as it stands, Echelon fails to be anything but a bit below average.

Beim Eracer-Test dachte ich noch, das Maximum an Schwierigkeitsgrad kennen gelernt zu haben. Von wegen: Echelon setzt den Frustrekord noch ein gutes Stück höher. Während man beim Rage-Renner durch fleißiges Training wenigstens millimeterweise vorankommt, scheitert man bei Echelon auch nach dem 20. Missionsstart noch an derselben unfairen Stelle. Solange Sie nicht magische Joystick-Künste beherrschen, sollten Sie Ihren Raumjäger tunlichst im Hangar lassen.