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Darkstar One: Broken Alliance

Darkstar One: Broken Alliance

Originally released on PC four years ago Darkstar One has taken its sweet time to come to console. Has it been worth the wait?

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Remakes can be the best thing in the world. They give us a chance to relive some of our favourite gaming moments and what could be better? Lately we have gotten reacquainted with Gyubrush Threepwood, we have followed Jill and Chris through the worst house in the world, and enjoyed breathtaking speeds in Wipeout HD. There really is only one catch when it comes to remakes. The original game has to be good to begin with.

German studio Gaming Minds haven't really taken this into account as they decided to reissue space shooter Darkstar One on Xbox 360. The original came out on PC in 2006 and wasn't stellar, and it should come as no surprise that the Xbox 360 isn't of the highest calibre.

You step into the space boots of Kayron and take the helm of a space craft called Darkstar One, left to him be his dead father. In fact, his father was murdered, and by his best friend as it seems, and with the ship it's time to get back at the murderer. Darkstar One is an extremely customisable ship, that even if it's equipped with all the latest gear, can be made into a much more potent ship. Equipping your ship in Darkstar One, is your main objective as this in turn more or less unlocks new planetary systems to visit.

Darkstar One: Broken Alliance is unfortunately a very repetitive game. When I'm not working on the mission that carry the plot forward, there are a number of side missions to complete. Too bad they are almost all identical with only changes of scenery. I don't know how many containers I've transported through the galaxy, and I have no idea of how many trade convoys I have escorted to distant trading posts. You have to complete some of these side missions to gain enough cash to buy the upgrades your ship needs. Thankfully, the main story missions ease the monotony somewhat.

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Even if Darkstar One: Broken Alliance offers few surprises, the core gameplay is enjoyable. Or at least for most of the time. When I'm not forced to flip through menu upon menu to buy, sell, plot destinations on maps, or upgrade the ship, I'm controlling the Darkstar One from a first person perspective. From my technologically advanced cockpit, I'm a space bully. It's a lot of fun shooting down enemies, chasing them with missiles or accelerate away just to turn around and shatter their behinds with lasers. Very satisfying. A group of smugglers tried to take me on as I was headed to a meeting, but I was having none of it. A quick roll and a bunch of well placed rounds later and all six of them were turned into space dust, and I was back on route to my appointment.

Darkstar One: Broken Alliance looks much like its PC original when it comes to the visuals. I tried to recollect a few games that came out in 2006 (when Darkstar One was first released, and I realised it couldn't have been highly rated in the visuals department at the time either with games like Dead Rising, Gears of War and Half-Life 2: Episode One, on the market. Games that have aged reasonably well. Darkstar One: Broken Alliance on the other hand looks old with its reused ship models, grainy cutscenes, low resolution textures and lack of the Mass Effect glow I have come to associate space adventures with.

The game is easy enough to control when you find yourself in a dogfight, but the road to get there is not as straight as one would have wished for. In order to interact with mission givers, trade posts, enemies, and research facilities you must first mark them. To mark something takes a few button presses and flicking through lists, which isn't really suitable on consoles. On PC I'm sure the menus made more sense, but one would have hoped for a better solution for the Xbox 360 version. Gaming Minds should have taken the time to create a more intuitive menu system, as the game loses a lot of its appeal due to this.

The main problem with Darkstar One: Broken Alliance is that it feels old. Covered with dust and forgotten. It just doesn't have what it takes to hang with today's finest. There are attempts to create a more player shaped experience, as you can align yourself with different factions depending on what missions you choose to do, but it doesn't have as much of an effect as one would have hoped. Remakes can be glorious, but this isn't really a remake it's just an old game that wasn't that great to begin with.

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Darkstar One: Broken AllianceDarkstar One: Broken AllianceDarkstar One: Broken AllianceDarkstar One: Broken Alliance
05 Gamereactor UK
5 / 10
+
More than 20 hours long, entertaining space combat.
-
Average graphics, ill conceived menus, poor voice acting, repetitive missions.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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