Last week I started playing Fusion Genesis and except for the facts that it was an MMO and that it took place in space I knew not much about the game. Yet I was very very anxious to see and play the game. Of course all that had to do with the fact that the developer behind the title, Starfire Studios, have quite a portfolio of games to look back to. (PS: please read through my bad English gramatica)
Story
A lot of the storyline is fired at you from the start of the game and it is quite complex. I’ll try to give you a glimpse. The human race are the new ones in a galaxy divided into several factions. One overseeing alliance of factions keeps the peace in the galaxy but the humans threaten it by their rivalry. Another combined enemy of all factions, The Legion, is to play another key role in this play.
I could understand that the game evolves about you being a student of a professor who unraveled a big secret. That secret could mean the end of a war. Most of the conversations are done with small graphical animation. It’s really one of those things where you are reminded that this is a lower budget production. I really hope that if this game does well that a follow-up will have more of a bounding storyline and done with a bit more of animation to keep you in the same experience.
Controls
You start the game in a small spaceship while playing some tutorial-esque mission. At first you really need to get used to the controls, especially in the starter ship. But after that, things go fast and you’ll adapt rather quickly. In some cases I felt that I was missing some fingers, since you’ll have to let go of firing button to use a booster or a barrel roll. None of that is really annoying but it is just something I noticed.
Missions
There are three kind of missions. The ones you get from a space station Captain. Mostly they are the faction leaders too. These missions make you level up in your faction, resulting in unlocking newer and better spacecrafts. Then there are the story missions which give you more information about the story. Lastly there are the missions you can use to gain credits and experience. There a lots of them, most of them don’t really add to the story. Once you shoot down other players in PvP you’ll receive more experience- and credit points.
Factions
Every faction has their own strengths and weaknesses. I played for the thugs most of the time. Hijacking other players ships is one of their bonuses but the downside is that they are at war with almost every other faction, thus resulting in a lot of enemies while cruising though the galaxy, especially in PvP.
Modes
The Single Player story mode is very obvious and it is really easy to turn PvP on in that mode. But the Multiplayer co-opWarzone,Ark Raid and Legion Raid modes are the most where the coolest action takes place. This was one hell of a ride with many large friendly battle ships taking on the Legion ships. I really enjoyed it. I hope more players join this game so that co-op missions like this will happen all the time.
Customize
The game is all about customization, you can update your pilot skills (damage, shield, etc), your ship, your weapons, weapon add-ons and your sentinels. Sentinels are the little robots you can attach to your ship. There are three Sentinel types being Standard Tank, Attack Tack and Healer Tank. You can use your experience points to update the sentinels but you can also use crystals you find in space. Lots of stuff!
Grafics
The graphics look really awesome. The ships are low-polygon models but have nice maps to them. All ships have their own look depending on which faction you play for. The galaxy itself is the nicest aspect of the game. It’s huge, looks absolutely deep and has lots of locations which all have their distinctive looks. The in game option screens look high-tech and de HUD tells you everything you need to know in a style. The only thing that bothered me were the graphics on the start and loading screens, not the ones with an images from space on them but more the ones with characters on them. They look out of place for being not so high-tech and hand drawn. Reminded me a little bit to the oldstyle Atari and Nintendo 8bit covers. Story elements are done with minimalistic animations.
Sound
The sound is nothing orchestrated like players got use playing Halo and Mass Effects games. Yet is gets the job done and never feel out of place. They add a feeling of mystery and space to the galaxy. Some tunes are quite excellent though!
Durabilty
The game is absolutely huge and after playing al lot, I can still see me playing this game for a lot more. The first few hours you’ll really need to figure things out. Once more players come online the game is absolutely endless. Also, I really believe some really cool add-ons will be released later on, because I am still using some standard classed weapon add-ons which indicate more exclusive ones.
Verdict
The game is huge and once you are playing a mission, the graphics and action is awesome. The options to customize your ships are endless and the multiplayermode is getting more and more fun by every day. After the tutorial, which is really basis, you’ll have to figure out all the options in the ‘back-options-screen’ yourself. Since those options go really deep I’ll advice you to take a look at the ‘helpscreen’ which should be a bit deeper with more info. If Starfire Studios can find a way to make the whole experience as one, then they have a definite winner on their hands. For now, the ‘not in mission’ graphics and animations make you realize that you are still playing an 800 pts arcadegame. Yet, the more I play it the more I like it and I have a feeling that I’ll be playing this for some time. I’ll certainly advise other players to play this game.
Score 8
