X2: The Threat

We enter deep space now with EgoSoft's epic space sim X2: The Threat. It's a game of enormous depth with beautiful graphics and an involving atmosphere. So, have fans of the classic Elite finally got the game that they've been dreaming of all these years? Read on to discover the truth...

X2: The Threat is a sequel to EgoSoft's space sims X: Beyond the Frontier. The events take place in the same universe some years after the events of the previous title. What set X: BTF, and to a greater extent X2, apart from similar space games was the depth and freedom offered to the player. This isn't some simple space shooter with a lame science fiction plot tacked onto it – it's a game of ambitious scope on complexity that more than often pays off.



For many years, gamers have sought a successor to David Braben's Elite. It's was a game that broke new ground and whenever a developer heads into the void you can almost here the PR folks getting ready to make comparisons with Elite. Yet Elite, for all the fond memories of the game, was a game of its age and limit by the technology of the time. Much of the joy of the game came from the player's imagination as much as visiting simple solar systems and selling slaves to cat people. Many of us older gamers remember the joy of vanquishing a Thargoid ship, but that Elite gameplay would seem simple to today's audience.

EgoSoft's space games really are the first in the genre to pick up Elite's ball and run with it. Finally, there are games that capture the spirit of Elite and expand on the concept to its logical conclusion. While Elite offered simple choices of mining asteroids, dealing in commodities or being a swashbuckling pirate – the freedom offered in X2 is several orders of magnitude above that.



There is a plot connected in X2 and its up to the player how much of that they involve themselves with. It's worth pursuing early on because it provides the player with several ships and some money to get things started. Much of the plot centres on the mysterious alien race, the Khaak. Once the Khaak arrive in the universe they are very disruptive and one of my few gripes with the game is that there should be an option to remove them, or at least stop them re-spawning once dead. For players who wish to expand financial empires and enjoy the game Elite-style the Khaak can be frankly annoying. To EgoSoft's credit though, the way major events in the plot alter the universe itself is very impressive. Unfortunately, the cut-scenes for the plot missions are not very impressive, but the rest of the game looks great, as we'll come to later in the review.

The universe, the trade prices, locations etc. all evolve over time. This is not a static universe but one that gives the impression of being populated with billions of characters all living their lives. And whatever these folks are dong the player is able to do to. Gone are the days of flying one ship from point to point buying goods and selling them at a different base. This is how many players will get their foot on the first rung of the economic ladder but there are many more routes to power and riches than this. Players can build their own factories and own fleets of computer-controlled ships to supply commodities and ship out finished products. The interesting thing about developing one's own factories is that the player is changing the universe – attracting new trade and affecting the commerce and transport routes of other races.

The upshot of this kind of empire building is that a player can end up owning whole sectors of space, creating trading markets and selling products and shipping them to other sectors. Fleets of transporters defended by small fighters buzz around the universe at the player's bidding, earning even more money. If finances are available, fleets of fighters and auto laser turrets can protect these factories. Yet, all of this vast empire is controlled through easy to use menus in the game's first person system. The player can still buzz around in their own ship, blasting away pirates and the Khaak and continue taking on missions while the business looks after itself. There's really nothing else like this available.

So pretty spectacular so far eh? Well all this depth and wonderful gameplay is wrapped in a very sweet package. The graphics are the best we've seen in a space sim. The lighting is particularly good, especially on those machines armed with a DX9 compliant graphics card. The addition of bump mapping really does wonders for the look of ships and stations. Add to this visual goodness a beautiful soundtrack that conjures up an atmosphere of awe and grandeur and you have one hell of a good looking and sounding game.

So, it's perfect then? Not quite. With a game like this there are numerous problems. One being it requires a pretty hefty PC to run well. The complexity of such a piece of software also makes for many bugs. A recently released patch solved a lot of these but many still remain – such as issues with the use of joystick control. Hopefully many of these problems will be solved before the game is released in the UK. The version reviewed is an imported American One and we're hoping everything, especially the cut scenes, runs much more smoothly.

[Alex]

X2 is really something special. We can live with numerous problems and bugs due to the sheer brilliance of the gameplay and depth X2 offers. The EgoSoft has done a great job creating the game and they are heavily involved in solving problems and patching various issues via the game's official forum. I can't praise X2: The Threat highly enough, it's a beautiful, intelligent and exciting game that captures the imagination of those of us who spent so long playing Elite in the 1980s.

[Harry]

The great thing about X2 is the ability to do whatever you wish within a universe that is constantly changing due to outside threats, the actions of the AI population and the player's own actions. The flight model is a little clunky and makes combat difficult and the menu systems leaves a lot to be desired. X2 is definitely a game that requires some patience on the part of the player to see the quality that lies beneath a pretty dreadful interface and badle conceived cut-scenes. We really liked the game and scored it accordingly, but it certainly a game that will polarise views. Some will think it is a technical disaster, despite the quality of the graphcs. Both Alex and I found it breathtaking entertainment and the atmosphere drew us in despite the flaws.