The nice thing about the ID@Xbox program is that it gives
niche games and genres that everyone says won’t work on consoles an opportunity
to at least make an attempt instead of not trying at all. Sure, it has meant we’ve had a lot of awful
mobile games no one really wanted show up on Xbox One, but we’ve also had some
real unexpected gems like Starpoint Gemini 2 make the jump as well. PC gamers have been saying for years that
space simulation games are too complex or demanding or whatever for consoles,
but Starpoint Gemini 2 (and others) keep proving them wrong. Check out all the details on Starpoint
Gemini 2 on Xbox One here in our full review.Game Details
- Publisher: Little Green Men Games
- Developer: Little Green Men Games
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Space Sim
- Pros: Looks gorgeous; accessible core gameplay; lots to do
- Cons: Awful menus; framerate totally dying every couple minutes
- MSRP: $35
Starpoint Gemini 2 offers both a story mode that as well as
a free roam mode. The story is
nonsensical, but it does introduce the characters and factions that make this
little slice of the galaxy tick, so it is a good idea to get your feet wet
there for a while to learn how the game works before switching to free roam. I prefer free roam because you can just do
whatever the heck you want without getting nagged all the time, and in a game
like Starpoint Gemini 2 that offers so many options and choices as to what to
do next, being free to do what you want is definitely the way to go.
Starpoint Gemini 2 is an open world (galaxy) sandbox where
you’re free to go wherever you want.
The galaxy isn’t exactly huge as it takes around 25 minutes to fly
straight from one side to the other, but it is very densely packed with planets
and stars and space stations and nebulas and all sorts of other stuff to keep
you busy. That means it obviously isn’t
realistic whatsoever, but it also means that you’re never more than 30-seconds
away from seeing / doing something awesome, which makes for a much better
videogame. Activities out in the galaxy
include rescuing other ships, mining, assassinating specific enemy ships,
taking on bounty hunting missions, and simply exploring and goofing off among
other things.
The gameplay in Starpoint Gemini 2, at least while you’re
out in space, is a sort of arcade-style third-person combat with surprisingly
accessible controls. You control your
ship’s speed with the triggers and fire your weapons with the bumpers. Navigation is as simple as picking a point
on the map and letting the autopilot fly you there, but you can also manually
fly if you want. And, of course, you
manually fly around during combat.
During combat the game shifts to a “combat mode” where visual overlays
appear around your ship that shows your shield strength on each quadrant. The idea is to maneuver around so you can
fire your weapons while keeping shields between you and your enemies.
The core flight / combat controls are fairly simple, but
doing other things gets a little more complicated. All of the other controls are accessed via radial menus opened
with the “X” and menu buttons on the Xbox One controller. These menus let you target specific parts of
enemy ships, turn on a grapple beam, activate sensors, access fleet commands
(because, oh yeah by the way, you actually end up controlling a whole fleet of
ships by the end) and more. It can be
somewhat confusing to have to press multiple buttons and go through radial
menus to do stuff, but once you learn how everything works it isn’t too bad. Not optimal, but not too bad.
What doesn’t work quite as well are the menus when you dock
with a space station. Docking at a
station allows you hire crewmembers, buy new parts, upgrade your ship, and
more, but the menus are just absolutely awful.
The upgrading and customization feature is very, very complicated
compared to the rest of the game, and it just throws whole pages of numbers and
stats at you with no context as to what any of it means. You do eventually figure it out, but it is
crazy how everything else is so streamlined and console-friendly while the
upgrade system is so convoluted.
Our only other major complaint is that the game’s
performance regularly falters every time you enter a new region of space. The map is split into 360 hexagonal-shaped
areas and every time you cross from one area to another, the framerate grinds
to a halt for a few seconds as the game is, apparently, loading the new
area. As we mentioned above, the map
isn’t exactly huge, so you can cross these boundaries surprisingly often. During normal flight it is an annoyance, but
when it happens in the middle of combat it is absolutely infuriating.
That performance issue aside, Starpoint Gemini 2’s
presentation is pretty stunning overall.
This game’s version of space is bright and colorful and dense instead of
having long stretches of realistic bleak and black nothingness and we totally
dig it. The game is gorgeous. You have full control of the camera to pan
around and zoom in and out so you can soak it all in, too, which is
awesome. The sound is pretty
spectacular as well with great sound effects and a soundtrack that will
instantly remind you of Mass Effect (one of the best sci-fi soundtracks
around).
Starpoint Gemini 2’s closest competition on Xbox One is RebelGalaxy, so if you’re choosing between the two here’s a quick comparison. Starpoint Gemini 2 is more sim-like and has
much, much better visuals while Rebel Galaxy is a little faster and more
immediately accessible with more of a focus on combat. Rebel Galaxy also costs less. I might prefer Rebel Galaxy a touch,
personally (that rocking soundtrack), but both games are very good.
Starpoint Gemini 2 has a couple of issues, but nothing so
major it should stop anyone interested in it from taking a look. It is gorgeous looking, which makes
exploration very satisfying, and the thrill of commanding a fleet of ships is
something other space sims on Xbox One can’t offer. At $35 it is a little on the expensive side, but there are dozens
of hours of gameplay here if you get hooked.
If you’re interested in space sims on Xbox One, Starpoint Gemini 2 is
worth a look.
Disclosure: A review code was provided by the publisher.
