The space privateering
genre, that started with the legendary Elite on Acorn BBC
computers, is not as big as is used to be. However, good games of
this type can be very entertaining and can give the player an epic
feeling of accomplishment. Wazzal (formerly known as Stars) is such a good space privateering
game. It is complete, well designed and polished (you don't see
that often in freeware offerings).
You start the game as a small-time
interplanetary pirate. You have to travel in our solar system
looking for money, which will help you save yourself from the up
and coming explosion of the Sun. To do this you have to capture
ships, trade goods and accept various mini missions. The space
battles, especially when you have progressed enough to have more
than one ship, are interesting and difficult to win, providing a
challenge. Capturing enemy ships involves fighting with it in order
to stall it and then guiding your men in it to kill the defending
crew. These battles are probably the weakest aspect of the game,
mainly because controlling your men does not feel very natural. In
general, the gameplay of Wazzal is good and even though it can get
boring some times (as is the case with space privateering games),
it will give you many hours of enjoyment.
The presentation of Wazzal oozes quality.
The graphics (actually 3D, but displayed from a top-down
perspective) are some of the best I have ever seen in a freeware
game. I particularly liked the backgrounds and the explosions, but
the ship models are also very well done and the attention to detail
is obvious. The sound is also good, providing suitable effects and
atmospheric music. To sum it up, I think that Wazzal is one of the
best and most polished freeware games I have every played. It is
worth your time, even though it is a big download (6.22Mb). |
