Gratuitous Space Battles

Think back to the first time you watched the Star Wars trilogy. What was it about them that made you love them so? Was it the action, Han’s swagger or R2’s cuteness, or maybe even the swashbuckling romance? Or was it the thrill of the battle sequences in space – in particular the choreographing of ships, and the gridded laser chart that Leia and the others in the command post plotted on as they watched the battle from the rebel base?

If it was indeed the laser chart that gave you the thrill, rather than the battle or the story itself, then Gratuitous Space Battles, still in beta, is absolutely the game for you.

I say this, with my rather convoluted lead-in to this preview, because I am the type of gamer who likes a lot of story with my games. Or at least some flashy eye-candy. And while Gratuitous Space Battles doesn’t really push my buttons, I’m sure that there are gamers out there for whom GSB will be a real win with.

The bulk of the game centres on designing ships. There are quite a few different hull types to choose from, and once you’ve picked one, you’ll spend the bulk of your time selecting different extra components to add to the ship: energy sources, weapons, shields – the whole shebang. Once you’ve pottered around there, the next phase is to look at a large space chart (cue your Leia hairdo at this point) and based on the outlines of the enemy ships on the other side of the chart, decide how you will arrange your own fleet in order to do battle. You are of course constrained by budget and the availability of some types of ship.

The third phase is the Gratiutous Space Battle part of the game. You hit a ‘go’ button, then sit back with a cup of tea (or Martini), and watch as the ships launch into battle. The look of the battles is quite remarkable; and you’re also privvy to a stream of communications from each of the different ships as they give you their status updates. All well and good, as long as you remember that this phase is strictly hands-off. You’re not able to change tactics, or give any commands that might alter the course upon which each ship is inexorably set.

The gratuitous battles aside, the look of the game is sombre, with similar-looking components during the shipbuilding phase. And while playing, I was too impatient to get past the shipbuilding phase and get on with the game. And I think this is why GSB didn’t work for me. When I play a game, any game, from The Sims to World of Warcraft to Total War, I usually go with the default setting for characters. Plus I skip the blow-by-blow parts of battle, if I can. I’m an impatient gamer; I like to get to the next step, and so I don’t usually spend a lot of time customising things. Nor do I agonize over stats or buffs. (Now’s when you take my gamer card away.)

But for those who could spend hours just creating an avatar, or who love to take their time over forming a strategy, Gratuitous Space Battles is definitely worth a look. While it’s still in beta phase at the moment, it’s available for pre-order (at $20 US, it’s a real steal) via Positech Games.