Cosmic Rift Online opens at Sony Online Entertainment

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Today, Sony Online Entertainment announced the availability of Cosmic Rift Online, its free online multiplayer space combat game. The game lets dozens of players engage in fast-paced space battles within large environments filled with obstacles and floating power-ups. It uses simple keyboard or mouse controls, and features more than a dozen different flyable craft, along with game mechanics reminiscent of space shoot-'em-up hits like the classic Asteroids, Star Control, and SubSpace. In fact, some of the designers of Cosmic Rift previously worked on SubSpace.

Cosmic Rift Online can be played free of charge along with most other games available at The Station, Sony's online gaming network. Cosmic Rift and other Station games are available once you register with The Station and download the Station LaunchPad software, after which Cosmic Rift itself requires another small download, which is approximately 20MB. Players can actually chat across different games in The Station using this proprietary software.

Cosmic Rift currently supports only a deathmatch mode of play, called chaos zone. Other team-based modes of play are currently in development, and the game will also support persistent stats-tracking, so that the best Cosmic Rift players will have bragging rights. The game's different spacecraft are balanced with different degrees of strength and maneuverability. Spacecraft expend energy when they fire their weapons, and also lose energy when they are hit--so you need to choose your shots carefully, lest you cripple yourself. Fortunately, your ship's energy recharges constantly, and you respawn quickly if your ship is destroyed. Your ship even packs a couple of special abilities, such as a repulsor burst that can deflect enemy fire and even enemy spacecraft in the vicinity. The momentum-based physics engine in the game gives a distinct feel to the control of the ships in the game, and also affects your attacks.

The game's graphics and sound effects are fairly simple, and reminiscent of those in other 360-degree top-down space shooters. This keeps the download small and should help keep the gameplay smooth in spite of allowing for many players in a single area. It also gives the game the same sort of appeal as its predecessors. Cosmic Rift is in a state of open beta, which means that features may be added and changes may be made to the game without much or any notice. This also means you can play the game as much as you want for free. You can learn more about the game at its official home page, which is linked below.