GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
- +
Richly-detailed graphics
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Time Acceleration
- +
Plenty to do
- +
lots to explore
Cons
- -
No third-person camera
- -
Laughably bad script
- -
Copy protection screws with your PC
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What is it with space pirates? They don't fly the Jolly Roger, they don't wear flowing garments and they don't abuse the word "arrrr". These guys aren't pirates; they're just losers. So there really isn't any moral dilemma when you blow them out of the sky in DarkStar One, a game that tries too hard to be a cinematic drama when it should just concentrate on what it does well: blowin' stuff up.
You play Kayron Jarvis, novice fighter pilot, on a mission to find the assassin who killed his father. At your disposal is the DarkStar One, a brand new prototype starship that can be tricked out dozens of different ways using whatever technology or "artifacts" you happen to find, steal or buy. There's a lot of plot focus, but it's all for naught: not only are the characters hollow and underdeveloped, but the script is badly translated into cheesy English from the original cheesy German, and the voice actors sound bored and detached.
Instead, you should just ditch the Kayron backstory and enjoy the game for its space dogfighting. Your highly maneuverable ship is fast and rugged, and the brisk action offers enough missions to keep you busy for weeks. You'll explore a galaxy full of solar systems, many of which are filled with - you guessed it - space pirates. Six non-human races inhabit vast regions of the galaxy that you'll eventually traverse, collecting weird alien gear for your ship, and commodities you can tug from station to station and sell to raise a bit more cash.
