Elite: Dangerous is the successor to what was once regarded as one of the best computer games of all time: David Braben’s Elite. Now that’s a tough act to follow. With the hopes of gamers across the world riding on its shoulders, can the new game deliver?
Elite: Dangerous is a space sim where players can trade, hunt, pirate and bounty hunt their way across 400 billion star systems. You’re given a starter ship, 1,000 credits, a quick tutorial and you’re off.
Most contemporary games are quite linear: you play a defined path to achieve a goal and grab some loot. In Elite: Dangerous, you do what you want, where you want, how you want. This freedom will confuse some but delight many.
Yet Elite: Dangerous isn’t the final chapter. The game itself is feature complete and everything works, but the development isn’t yet done. There is much more to do in terms of content and depth. The game is miles wide but only inches deep. The universe is huge but lacks in personality. There are millions of missions but only a few types. Looks-wise, the graphics look great even on a standard PC set-up. The colour, fidelity and sci-fi representations are superb. Play on multiple screens or Oculus Rift and you’re in a completely different world. The game looks and sounds amazing. While there is no sound in space, some has been added for flavour. Despite being a sim, we can forgive these points as they have been made to increase immersion not to cut corners.
Elite: Dangerous also plays and works well and had a relatively easy launch. Except for a server issue in early January, it has been a model launch for such a game. Other game studios should take note.
Is Elite: Dangerous worth buying? Yes because it’s a fantastic game that works well and offers hours of exploration. No in that it can be boring at times and lacks depth. There is a lot more to be done to add flavour, character and more universe around your tiny little ship before we would regard it as truly complete.
Jesmond Darmanin is a technology enthusiast who has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.