Why Elite: Dangerous is the Best Game You Aren’t Playing
In a world of casual easy to pick up and easy to master video gaming we as gamers find ourselves in a plug and play environment. Any new title you grab off the Microsoft or PlayStation stores from top game producers like EA or Activision is likely to have similar controls and similar game play. This in a way is a good thing; it allows players to easily step into a multitude of new worlds as quickly as they like and get rolling with fantastic story lines and action, but it’s also a curse. When nothing has to be learned, there is not a serious mental engagement to the game. Without complexity players don’t feel the sense of depth that entices them to commit to serious skill based game play. Enter Elite: Dangerous, the space pilot simulator that asks you to fully engage in what you are doing. You play the role of an independent Commander of your own personal spacecraft. In this galaxy you can become a Trader, Explorer, Pirate, Bounty Hunter and so much more. Here is my review of Elite: Dangerous and why I believe it is the best game you aren’t playing.
That New Car Smell
When you first login you find yourself already inside your first ship; a brand-new Sidewinder and it’s absolutely free (a much better deal than I got on my first car). If you have elected to do the tutorial, you will be walked through the rudimentary processes of how to fly your vessel. You will probably find, much like I did, that it’s difficult to handle and the little instructor’s voice in your ear isn’t exactly the most helpful of people. She essentially gives you enough training to not crash or blow up, flying around at basic speeds. At first controlling your ship doesn’t feel great and can be frustrating. Don’t rage quit yet though, give it a little practice and you’ll get the hang of it. Once you are zooming around like a happy baby space bird, you are immediately introduced to combat for the first time, after all what good galactic adventure doesnt come with lasers, canons and evil space pirates. Combat is one of the most thrilling aspects of this game. Because of the complexity of piloting your ship and the skill it takes to do so effectively, there is a certain thrill to out maneuvering your enemies that you don’t get anywhere else. Time after time in simpler games you feel like you lost a match because of some cheese tactic or some character is too overpowered, but not Elite, in Elite it’s your skill against theirs. How well do you know your ship and its capabilities? How hard have you practiced pushing it to its limits? Chasing that first enemy Sidewinder around, dropping its shields with laser fire and then watching the fireworks as you blast it with your missiles is extremely satisfying. Space Combat in Elite is a 10/10 and the first intense dogfights, where you barely know what you’re doing, that make you begin to think “Hey maybe this game might be worth the effort!”
Making Money
After you’ve been piloting your Sidewinder for a little while you will probably have noticed that at several of the space stations around the galaxy there are a plethora of options to modify and outfit your ship, or even buy a whole new one. However, for these things you need to make money and credits are the currency of the realm. Earning credits can be accomplished in a variety of different ways ranging from doing simple Courier Missions, which involves flying from point A to point B, to Hunting down bands of space pirates and blasting them into a fine dust. Completing missions rewards you with credits as well as faction reputation and experience towards your rank in your chosen profession. I’d like to also add that you are never restricted to one thing you can always swap between jobs. You can be a bounty hunter one day and a freight hauling space trucker the next, it’s all about what you feel like doing. After you earn a few million credits you will probably want to think about parking that old Sidewinder and upgrading into a more specialized ship for what you enjoy most. Just keep in mind the golden rule of space travel. It’s a dangerous Galaxy out there, never fly what you can’t replace. What I mean by that is that every ship has a price to replace it in case tragedy strikes and you accidentally fly into a star while getting some coffee… Just remember that before you spend it all on a baseline Diamondback Explorer hoping to explore the far reaches of the galaxy.
To Infinity and Beyond…
Elite: Dangerous takes place right here in our own Milkyway galaxy, impossibly recreated on a massive 1 to 1 scale. You can even visit Earth, if you play your cards right with the Federation. One of the best rewards in game is that with a sandbox this big there is always something new to explore out there on the fringes of known space. If you are the first one to discovery a star or a planet your name will be on it for everyone to see, for all time. On special occasions in-game events take players on megaships into deep space all the time and while dangerous it’s extremely thrilling to take part in them. Actions like this show that Elite is not a project that runs on auto-pilot. You can tell that the people at Frontier Developments care about this game. They care about player satisfaction, they care about content and growth, and they care about the fun. This is not a developer that is cranking out cash cow video games, nickle and diming you every chance they can to make a massive profit. The evidence of this is in their most recent Game update “Beyond”. They added massive amounts of new content to the game for all players, one hundred percent free. Companies like this are what we sorely need in the gaming world right now. We live in a world where games are entirely too easy and victory is spoon-fed to us, making it valueless. I implore you to try something challenging and deeply rewarding. Give this game a few hours a day for a week and you will be hooked I promise. I look forward to seeing you out there Commanders. Good Luck.