Starpoint Gemini 2 (PC) Second Opinion Review

The pacing of Starpoint Gemini 2 since it came out of Steam Early Access is much improved. After playing the beginning of the story the game offers up a choice: continue the campaign or jump into the amazing freeroam world. The first thing to take note of after beginning either mode is the sheer size of the world. It takes many real-time minutes to travel between planets, stations and asteroids.

Even though Starpoint Gemini 2's world is massive it never really feels empty. Granted, it looks barren in some locations, but then space isn't exactly the most populated of environments. Graphically, Starpoint doesn't disappoint; everything is polished, vibrant and well-textured, which, combined with a good lighting engine, makes the models and environments look great.

The game has seen a few overhauled AI systems. Combat has become exhilarating now that the enemies and other ships in the fleet can take more varied action during an attack. Though the difficulty in Starpoint can be lax at times, it is very difficult to decide which heading to take, and sometimes ends with an enemy-controlled sector and the player being surrounded very fast.

One of the best things to do in Starpoint Gemini 2 is just go exploring and gather resources to trade at each planet and station. These can be gathered from derelict ships or asteroids and even bought at each landing location. Buying or scavenging some items then travelling through the various sectors to get the best mark-up for the cargo is cathartic and provides many hours of entertainment - like an intergalactic Euro Truck Simulator!

The freelance missions in Starpoint help to make the universe feel dynamic. Passing through a sector often wields these missions in the form of an assassination mission or one of the many other variations, and these have a level of difficulty. Depending upon difficulty the mission may yield bigger rewards than another, but at the risk of losing everything that has been built up so far. After the recent update there are new missions in the form of assault and defence missions, but unfortunately none of these were found during the review process.

The major downside to Starpoint is the way that it presents its tutorials. At many times the system can be baffling. The range of options is kept simple, but is not instantly intuitive. There are a ton of tutorials that explain every aspect of the game except for actually explaining how to play it, and what should and shouldn't be attempted when starting out. It effectively raises a barrier for any players who don't have enough time to sink their teeth in and learn the system.