Attempting to play Spaceforce: RU is akin to putting yourself through medical school with no professors, and no books
I'm no stranger to space sims, having played quite a few in my past: Wing Commander, Freelancer, some of the Star Trek sims, DarkStar One, X3:R and X3:TC, etc. Some of them are simply action/arcade, some are RPGs, and some (like the X3s) were an attempt at a complete universe with economy. That means that I'm used to both easy-to-grasp games/controls, and harder ones like X3.
Nothing however in my experience, prepared me for the complete lack of direction that Spaceforce dropped on me like a ton of bricks when I started a new campaign. Many other people have mentioned it - the game drops you in a dogfight that you are virtually guaranteed to lose the first few times you try it, while you fumble with the controls and attempt to figure out how to target your enemies. Meanwhile, your lesson in humility goes on. One has to wonder if that was what the developers were trying to do with the opening sequence in Spaceforce.
However, the tumult of confusion and bafflement doesn't stop there.. You are given a snap training course that lasts all of ten seconds - none of the controls are explained, and despite thoroughly briefing yourself via the configuration section of the menus, you'll probably end up on the game's forums trying to figure out how to "activate satellites" for your first mission.
At this point I was frustrated, but not out of the game. I completed my first mission, and then the second which was fairly close by. After that however, any attempt to figure out where to go next by using the in-game map and quest log left me hanging. Compared to a game like Freelancer or X3:TC which always give you indications of where to go or what to do next, Spaceforce was almost devoid of this guidance.
I managed to dock (don't ask how - had to find out the same way via the official forums), and poked around a bit with ship customization, trade goods, factions (races), etc.. and finally decided that without a proper tutorial that the game was simply coming off my hard disk. I had no desire to spend the next two weeks (a fair estimate) figuring out the game from the inside by writing everything down and sorting out what I could.
Simply put: this is even more of a disaster than the X-series was, in terms of the learning curve. That goes for both the user interface, and the game itself.
Summation:
- Graphics (7.5/10) It was pretty, which I guess is what sells the game off the shelf. When you've opened it, you can't return it. Go figure.
- Audio (7/10) Adequate. Nothing good or bad to say here.
- Gameplay (2/10) There might be something buried in the game's engine worth playing, but it is nearly impossible to get to.
- Replay Value (1/10) Hard to recommend a replay when you can't play it to begin with.
If you know someone with a copy and have a penchant for self-abuse, go ahead and install it, give it a whirl. But when the "gorgeous blonde" which is Spaceforce opens her mouth and she sounds like a 40-year old male trucker, you have to do a double take - I did. Then I took some advil after the headaches the game gave me, uninstalled it, and decided to pass on my experiences with it. Hopefully this will add to the number of people that save themselves the trouble and pursue their enjoyment elsewhere.