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Tuesday, 21 June 2016 00:00

Starpoint Gemini Warlords

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Space is an exciting and dangerous place. Hope you are prepared.

Starpoint Gemini Warlords is the type of space adventure players have been looking for. The perfect blend of RPG and 4X gameplay elements that complement each other greatly. Created by Little Green Men Games, the Starpoint series has been a success ever since their initial release back in 2010. Warlords is the third installment of the series, and Little Green Man Games has it in early access to have the gamer community and developers discuss where improvements and tweaks can be made. Space exploration titles are difficult to sell because let's be honest, space is the easiest environment to use in a game. Why is it then that the Starpoint Series shines where others fail? What makes it so great and why do people want to play them?

Starpoint Gemini Warlord’s many aspects and community involvement is the answer to those questions.

4X titles are hard to get into, let alone stay involved. 4X stands for explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. That's a lot for one person to take on immediately. Players sometimes feel intimidated by more complex games, which leads to anger, frustration, and hate for a certain title. Series that fall into that genre are not always loved or even liked. They end up being frequently played anyway, as people do enjoy spending time learning and improving skills.

Starpoint Gemini series takes this genre on and does it quite well. Learning the systems, building, and ship controls are intuitive and easy to understand. I got destroyed the first time I came across a battalion of enemies, but I wasn't frustrated about it. I wanted to know what I needed to annihilate my enemies, and so I learned.

Spending the time to learn aspects of the Starpoint Gemini Warlords was rewarding in its own regard. Learning different weapon systems, battle tactics, and what to upgrade only made me want to explore the universe more even though I knew I would encounter death again and again. Not many titles do that to me the same way as Warlords has. A similar title was released in 2015 named Rebel Galaxy, which was a more simplified type of space shooter. Players controlled a ship that could be upgraded and exchanged out for a more powerful ship, completed missions for money or reputation, and of course tried to find your missing Aunt. While Rebel Galaxy was great, it was primarily a space naval-style battle where there was no moving along the Z plane (up or down). Having the movement restriction during battles was a bummer and besides that point, Rebel Galaxy became very linear as the missions became redundant.

Starpoint Gemini Warlords avoids those pitfalls.

The story line in engaging and compels the player to move forward to find out more about the lore of the universe find more answers. Charater creation for a Captain is a fun and immersive way to personify your adventure. It adds to the idea that you, the player, are in command of your ship and responsible for your crew's well-being, while of course, being tasked with discovering the universe.

Starpoint Gemini Warlords is a great title for any player that is attracted to space, exploration, RPG’s, and 4X games. The community and developers working together, through Steam’s Early Access, is what shapes and forms the game, from a concept to a commercial product, and one that everyone will enjoy. The PR Spokesperson for Little Green Men Games, Zeno Žokalj, spoke with us here at OPNoobs and explained the importance of Early Access and what the studios' plans were for the remainder of development. Zeno stated that “lots of ideas Starpoint Gemini 2 saw but did not find will be implemented in Warlords.” He went on to explain how the community's involvement with the title has made his personal experience a great one, and that he is excited to see the outcome of Warlords.

Little Green Men Games is bringing a lot to the table: an unofficial but all-the-more meaningful partnership, between the community and a development studio, to work together and create what, we hope, will be a fantastic experience for all those involved.

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Robert Kelly

Rob is a mid-20’s Paladin who spends his free time reading, playing video games, and running D&D. His favorite game is Earthbound and he enjoys the novels of Brandon Sanderson . He writes reviews for games and gives his opinion, good or bad. He has come this far to play and review games, let's see how he does.