X: Beyond the Frontier

The Good
Any homage to Elite is a welcome one and although X:BTF did little to push the boundaries, it was a laudable tribute to the Braben/Bell classic. Yes the universe was comparatively small, the flight dynamics were simplistic and the combat disappointing, but the atmosphere was tense and foreboding (helped along by the excellent Vangelis-a-like Blade Runner-esque soundtrack), and when you did manage to set up a few factories and get a grip of the trading, it opened up to be an excellent space adventure

The Bad
X:BTF was slated for it's slow pace, and while it does a take a few hours to get going, it was nowhere near as catatonic as Elite's early stages. That said the combat is disappointing (certainly not a patch on its contemporaries FreeSpace and Tachyon), and the graphics are typically boxy of a 1999 game. Compared to its high-end sequels X1 is almost retro in look and the story is as basic as any you'll find in the genre.

The Bottom Line
Someone had to keep the Elite dream alive and Egosoft did well, despite being lambasted by Elite's creators and a good few others. If you like space-trading games, X1 is as good as any you'll find and remarkably still very playable against its more recent sequels. Purist space combat fans may prefer the likes of I-War 2 and FreeSpace however.