Windows

SubSpace

Vergeet C&C: Sole Survivor; hier is SubSpace. Een erg leuke, eenvoudige on-line arcade game. Een simpel doch doeltreffend spelletje: betere on-line tijdverspilling is er niet.

Grafisch is Subspace zeker geen hoogvlieger, maar al bij al ziet het er niet slecht uit. Het geluid valt best mee. Eigenlijk vonden we Subspace een redelijk goed spel. Vooral zo'n wedstrijdje powerball is echt de moeite waard. Heb je soms heimwee naar je oude C64 games, probeer dan dit spel eens.

On a simplistic level, it's a nonstop, blast-every-enemy-in-sight shooter. But the gameplay subtleties mean it may take several months before a "newbie" can begin to control his destiny. You select one of seven spacecraft, each with strategic strengths and weaknesses, and use the arrow keys to control it, including the down arrow for reverse thrust. You enter a game by selecting a server based on its proximity and gameplay approach, from beginner and so-called Chaos shoot-em-up sites, to capture the flag(s) and hockey-like sites.

Lassen Sie sich durch die anfangs ungewohnte Steuerung nicht abschrecken - wenn man einmal den Bogen raus hat, macht SubSpace einen Heidenspaß. Allerdings ist die Lernkurve sehr, sehr hoch. Das sorgt gerade im Hinblick auf die Telefonrechnung für eher zwiespältige Gefühle. Und selbst wenn Ihnen die egal ist: "Mehr" als ein Herumsausen, Abschießen und Plaudern mit anderen Spielern während des Flugs gibt es nicht.

The strengths of SubSpace, though, are also its weaknesses. On the up side, it's a great Asteroids clone. On the down side, it's still just an Asteroids clone, albeit with lots of people and friendlier rocks. What's great about this game, though, is its ability to combine simple mechanics with fairly complex strategies and tactics. While it won't give chess a run for its money, SubSpace can be much more than a mere twitch game. With six different ships, the ability to attach oneself onto other ships as a turret, and numerous game styles (capture the flag, deathmatch, teams), there is a surprising amount of depth to the game. Add to that the ability to set up additional SubSpace servers, and this becomes a good deal for thirty bucks.