

However, as you encounter more advanced races their ability to out-maneuver you will become apparent. Because of the qualities of your ship, at less difficult settings you can literally fly circles around your adversaries early on.
#Darkstar one ship series#
If you've played much of the X-Wing or TIE Fighter series from LucasArts, you'll be familiar with the basic premise of space battle.
#Darkstar one ship full#
Simply playing through the story-which you must do to unlock the full map-will ensure you get a hearty dose of this game's bread and butter: space combat. Unless you're a real die-hard for realism, a mouse will get the job done fine. There are also a number of controls that can be toggled with the keyboard, activated via the on-screen interface, or assigned to a joystick button. While the joystick does suffice for 80% of the movements you'll make, I often found myself switching to the mouse for more precision. The DarkStar One can be controlled via mouse or joystick. Satellites, moons, binary planet systems, and stars all make beautiful appearances alongside each race's unique architecture and ship design. Ascaron has done a fantastic job of putting a vast, realistic galaxy into perspective. While the lack of planetary exploration may be disappointing for some, it is important to note that the game is all about space. The rest of the planets are explored via their trade and research stations. There are hundreds of planets to explore-though you only get to fly over the surface of a few. For the budding revolutionaries playing DarkStar One, the game's political system allows you to become an operative in the employ of one of the galaxy's political factions, destroying enemies, intimidating merchants, and assassinating rival officials. Players in the middle ground can become mercenaries, fulfilling missions in each trade station (typically search and rescue-type missions, but with a good deal of sabotage thrown in). Calmer, more tactical players may choose to turn the DarkStar One into a heavy trading vessel, while more aggressive types can choose between fighting for or against justice, as a bounty hunter or pirate. Because the ship can be upgraded to suit a number of roles and the open-ended universe allows for many different choices to be made, Kayron's possibilities are abundant. While tracking him down, Kayron will be forced to choose his path through the galaxy. The main storyline is complex, and revolves around tracking down a mercenary responsible for the death of Kayron's father.
#Darkstar one ship upgrade#
The upgrading scheme can be addictive, and I often found myself pursuing upgrade crystals at the expense of missions and stories. Additionally, the ship can be upgraded via pulsing green crystals harvested from deep within space asteroids. Inherited from his father, the DarkStar One is able to adapt any type of ship technology as its own. The star of the game is not Kayron, however, it is his ship, the mysterious and powerful DarkStar One. On his journey, Kayron crosses into hundreds of systems, encounters thousands of other ships, and meets beings of half a dozen different species. In the game, a young hotshot human pilot (who else?) named Kayron traverses the galaxy to search for his slain father's murderer. Special missions feature exploring canyons and other surfaces of strange planets.ĭarkStar One is a space-sim shooter in the vein of X3: Reunion and Freelancer. When gaining experience, your special "spell weapon" will become more powerful and versatile as you traverse more than 400 solar systems populated by six species of alien. Your ship, for example, can be upgraded and altered to create a battle cruiser, or fast attack boat. Over 200 weapons such as rockets, torpedoes, mines, equipment, and shield upgrades may be purchased, taken, or traded. You can take many different approaches to earning cash and upgrades including trading, mercenary work, smuggling, pirating, or any combination that suits your playing style. Darkstar One is designed to include freedom of choice and is intended to create many options on how the story is played out.

The galaxy is your playground as you take the role of Kayron Jarvis, exploring space and looking for clues to unlock the secrets of your father's death.
