Sunday, December 24, 2017

Smugglers 5 - 20/20 hours

Smugglers 5 is a small game that wants to be a big game. So much of it feels like its staking out territory for a world of epic scope and grandeur, but then when you get into the various subsystems, you find that they have no depth. You can bribe a planetary governor, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing you can do with a friendly governor except marry his daughter and possibly incite him to rebel. You get your own planet, but it's only effect is on your score at the end. It's not even cosmetic, you can visit the planet and nothing happens. Nobody even acknowledges your sovereignty. It's the same all over - fleet tactics, the trading system, marriage and family - all of them are skin deep.

Nonetheless, I can't bring myself to condemn such ambition. One of the great dreams of gaming is the "virtual world," a simulated space where you can direct your avatar hither and yon, but never run into a situation where there's something you, the player, think your character should be able to do, only to have it be impossible to attempt. If there's a door, you should be able to open it. If there's a fence, you should be able to climb over it. There are limits, of course, but the closer those limits are to the limitations of the real world, the better.

Smugglers 5 is clearly reaching for the dream. If I chafe a bit under its limitations, I at least admire what it's trying to do. And the shallowness isn't all bad. It was an easy game to learn, and once I got used to the randomness of the combat system, I never really had to fear any serious setback or frustration. Maybe not the most sterling recommendation for a strategy game, but it was a pleasant enough way to waste 20 hours.

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