REBEL GALAXY: OUTLAW.
INTRO
Played some of Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw for a bit from the Tim Sweeney Epic Game Store. Have some thoughts to share here on this action-packed space-sim, spending a little over an hour into this and all.
So, let's start with this: did you play Freelancer? Would you basically like a modern day, updated, and newer Freelancer? You're going to be very happy if your answer is "yes." Sure, RGO has also some new twists, turns, and spins on the open-world/open-space action-packed space-sim - but this is essentially what you're getting, more or less.
REBEL WITH A CAUSE.
You play as Juno, a woman who's a space-outlaw that is looking to get revenge against those involved with her husband's death. She almost gets killed in the process and gets away in her ship. Now, she's traveling the galaxy to find all those people, groups, and parties involved...and take them down.
PERSONALITY EVERYWHERE
There's plenty of personality here. There are unique-looking & interesting aliens here. Human NPC's even have a lot of character to them, as well. Overall, this game has this very cool outlaw and cowboy feel & vibe to it, but it's all taking place out here in space...giving off this Firefly and Guardians of the Galaxy type of vibe and influence. Some NPC's & characters - and especially main characters - have very distinct ways they talk and/or speak. Even when you're in your ship flying around, taking some cues from Grand Theft Auto, there are music radio stations w/ commercials & even different styles of music, such as classical and rock - though they are often giving off this very Texas-style feel, vibe, and style to it all.
IN A REBEL GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
While in this process, as Juno, you're going to travel the galaxy with tons to do. You will fly to stations & outposts, so you can check the scene & see what's on-going in the galaxy/game-world. You can go to the bar and talk to bartenders, trying to get more information. Some info is free, while some you might pay for. You can play dice, play some slots, go the arcade to play an Asteroids-style game, and even play some pool in these bars, too.
You can trade & sell resources and items from your cargo, getting involved with the game's fluctuating & constantly changing system. You can buy equipment (shields, missiles, lasers, tractor beams, after-burners, etc.); upgrade your ship; and/or even buy a few different ships that are in the game. You can find missions on Bulletin Boards, so you can just take on missions out there in space. I don't yet know how much variety these are in these side mission types, but I have so far ran into missions of destroying a bunch of mines while out in space and also taking on some space pirates in some combat.
You can and will take on side missions, so that you can make money. You often need to take on side quests & missions, just so you can make enough money so that you can take on a main story quests...which is very similar to Freelancer's questing system. Here, though...you might need to buy a specific item to take on a main quest b/c likely that mission is going to also teach you a new game mechanic and/or you'll need this item to do a specific mission. There is also a reputation system...and depending on what missions you do and/or who you get into battles with or help, you could help or hurt your reputation with that group or groups.
You can run into special transmissions, while on-the-fly....and out there in space. Not, I'm not sure if these are specific hand-crafted missions, randomly generated missions, or the game decides which one of these to use - but often, it's some kind of mission. Maybe you're to rescue someone and take out some enemies. Maybe you're there to just take out some objects in space. Who knows.
SPACE COMBAT & PERFORMANCE
Combat in space is a lot of fun...and again, reminds me of Freelancer. Combat is basically loaded with action and you're likelye going to run into enemies to fight while in-flight, getting involved in some good & old-fashioned space-sim style of dog-fighting while in your spaceship. You can use a 3rd person camera that's set behind the ship or a 1st person in-the-cockpit camera, which feels a lot like Freelancer and/or Egosoft's X series. You can switch these cameras while on-the-fly, also.
If you're using a keyboard and mouse & have assists on and take on the Normal difficulty, you can hold the right mouse and it'll try to help aim & lock onto enemies. You can auto-fly to checkpoints & important spots on the map, without really having to wait for the game to let you fly to a spot...which will keep the game moving, you moving, & the action likely going at a fast & action-packed pace. If you want, you could take on higher difficulties to turn off the usage of a lot of these assists, if you're an old-school space-sim fan and/or a hardcore type of player.
This game has a fair amount of options (all in the splash screen that appears before you boot up into the game) & can run very well. It looks quite good, while also having its own distinct look, feel & style. On my SC15 gaming laptop, while out in space, it was eating up around 3.5 GB of VRAM at 1080p...but running extremely well at its Maximum settings at 90fps to 112fps. Simply put: this game looks good - but plays great, feels great, and runs great. In terms of actual performance and how it runs, on that front, there's just not much more I can really ask for on this one.
OUTRO
RGO already feels like it already has a bit more action & meat to it than the action-packed, open-world space-sim game Freelancer - but still just might not be as deep & complex as space-simulations like the Egosoft's X games. If you're looking for something like that, this could the space-cowboy style & action-packed space-sim & galaxy that you're looking to explore.
With this game also having some assists (fast-travel to certain areas and missions and also easier aiming & locking on) that could be much easier for not-as-hardcore players to get into, but hardcore players might be able to get into this game b/c a lot of these assists can be turned off in the higher difficulties & game modes - this game could appeal to maybe even both types of gamers, who are looking for an action-packed space-sim.
This feels like this could be the spiritual successor & evolution to Freelancer that I've actually been waiting for. Only time will tell, if this space-sim (RGO) can fully live up to that space-sim's greatness (Freelancer).
k
