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GRAPHICS: A+ (10) Let me first say that Colony Wars was in my opinion, one of the greatest games to hit the PlayStation. With its excellent design, it really showed what the PlayStation was really capable of doing and more. Now, exactly a year later, the sequel to one of the best PlayStation games (if not for all systems) has returned with a vengeance. Graphically, the first Colony Wars redefined the space shooting genre, and with much surprise, this sequel delivers the same yet again. It would seem that flying through space would sooner or later, get monotonous, but Psygnosis has made sure that wouldn't be the case in its game. As you are flying through space, you will come across nebulae, worm-holes, various solar systems with different planets/satellites, and hazards such as randomly-generated asteroids. Asteroids are interactive, and sometimes play a role in the process of the game, such as when you need to mine them for crystals contained inside. I've never seen planets as awe-inspiring as the ones featured in Colony Wars: Vengeance. Even the loading screens are over normal standards in this game, as instead of just seeing a black screen, you'll actually get a clip of your ship departing from the space station. The detail is magnificent in every aspect. Pyrographical effects, such as a breaching hull are far better than in Colony Wars. Instead of a white flash that hides load time, the large vessels now break apart and incinerate in real-time without any sacrifices, and it makes for a great dramatic effect. Ship design is also something that has been greatly improved (not that the first one was bad) from the original, in this game, all crafts have attained a far greater level of texture detail, and in some cases they may have moving or rotating parts. There are parts in the game in which ships get titanic in size, and you are like a flea on a dog in comparison. One neat feature that you'll see is that when you're using the reverse thrusters, a spray of freezing air shoots out of the front of the craft, which push the ship in reverse. There is no longer a trail of fire coming from the back of the ship while the throttle is in use, instead, there are only constant lights that grow in luminosity when you use the afterburners, more like in sci-fi movies. Speaking of sci-fi movies, the FMV movies that explain as the story progresses are extremely cool and add a cinematic touch to the experience.
There are quite a few weapons at your disposal, many of which are brand new and add a lot to the game. Gunshots are very colorful and luminous, and some torpedoes have light trails that look spectacular, even when they are being fired at you. Whenever a ship is destroyed, the remains will stay floating aimlessly through space, this adds a lot of realism. You'll often come across wings or parts of a hull just drifting in orbit around a planet. Attention to such detail is unprecedented. Not all battles take place in space however, there are now sub-orbital missions throughout the game that are unique and give you a variety of things to do while flying over hills and steep canyons. You'll meet some really strange enemies in these, so be prepared. I've never seen a game as beautiful as Colony Wars: Vengeance. It deserves no less than a perfect score here. SOUND/MUSIC: A+ (10) If you've ever played the first Colony Wars, you should remember that it had a fantastic classical soundtrack that fit the gameplay beautifully and sounded like something from a popular sci-fi movie. Well Vengeance's soundtrack is far better than the first's, and it will stick to you mind for weeks. It is an inspiring, instrumental war soundtrack heavy on percussion and strings. During gameplay, your comerads and commanders will give you orders or tips for you to do, and these voices are no longer stupid annoying ones, and sound a bit more realistic. A more surreal sound was made for the weapons, and the surround sound works beatifully as gunshots scream past you and ships are blown to shreads. Every aspect of sound is perfect as well.
GAMEPLAY: A+ (10) In the first Colony Wars, you played the role of a rebel fighter for the League Of Free Worlds, a colony turned against the Earth Empire, also called the Navy. At the end of the first game (one of the five endings) the League Of Free Worlds leaves Sol system in ruins, closing the worm-hole behind it, leaving the Navy scavenging for remains of its once mighty, tyranical system. The sequel starts off a generations later. Kron, the leader of the new Navy fleet, has just recruited enough soldiers to make a full-scale war against the rebelling League, whom all share hostility against. You now play the role of Mertens, an experienced soldier who was never involved with the League, but deeply hates it for what it did to his ancestors. Mertens is the speaker during the CG movies that take place between acts, and his role is far more important and involved that the main character of the first game (who was pretty much inexistent). The storyline develops as the game progresses, and unfolds to epic proportions. The first thing you notice as you begin to play is the speed of you craft when you hold the thrusters. Not even the fastest ship in the first game is as fast as the first ship in the sequel. The after-burners farther increase speed, by giving you an extra boost to get you out of sticky situations. Even this is not as fast as it can go. When you successfully finish a mission, you'll get a "tech-token", which is used to upgrade the ship in four ways. You can increase its speed, shields, after-burners, and maneuverability. Should you do exceedingly better, you may be awarded with a whole new craft, of which there are five. Normal gameplay allows you to go on any axis through space, in full polygonal 3-D. The polygons never break up, and the game keeps a constant high framerate, even when a lot of things are happening at the same time, and big objects with many polygons and textures are moving about. Colony Wars: Vengeance, just like the original, has branching missions, in which you advance upwards if you win, or go to a whole new branch if you lose. This is how you accomplish to gain different endings (a total of six different ones). Missions vary greatly depending which paths you take, and there are over fourty missions. The missions never get repetitive and, unlike the original Colony Wars, you get many different tasks to achieve in them, making the missions very long (far longer than the original). For example, the very first mission has you fighting hordes of small attackers and three or four large vessels. You have a lot of new weapons to choose from in this game, some of which are very intuitive. One of my favorite weapons is the Leech gun. This gun allows you to drain your enemies' shields for your use, move power from reactors to a super-cannon, or even download viruses to satellites. This game supports the Dual-Shock Analog controller in fine form. It vibrates when you are hit, and even harder when you use the after-burners. Gameplay is magnificent from the start.
FUN AND REPLAY VALUE: A+ (10) This game is packed with missions, they get exceedingly more difficult after every level, and are a blast to play. Its branching missions mean you'll be playing a new game each time (unless you are either extremely good or you REALLY suck), and according to your efforts, there are a total of six different endings to get. It is really fun to play Colony Wars: Vengeance, and I really doubt you'll ever get tired of it. Heck, I'm still playing the original, even after getting Vengeance, and that one still hasn't begun to show its age. You'll play it again and again for years, just like the first. WORTH BUYING: YES If you have not played the first Colony Wars yet, then you've put me in a tight situation. I don't know which is more convenient to buy. Although this is a better game overall, the first game holds an important chunk of the storyline and is just as well loads of fun. Well I say you get both, but if you want my opinion on which is a better game, this is it. I can't recommend any other game over this right now. This game is for all ages, and would make an excellent gift if you ask me. OVERALL: A+ (10) I would've never thought that Colony Wars could get any better, but this sequel exceeds my expectations. Colony Wars: Vengeance is one of the best games ever. I wholeheartedly recommend everyone to give it a look. To order Colony Wars:
Vengeance click the button
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