Battlestar Galactica

   I have had the pleasure of playing many different browser games over the last five years. It wasn't until I became a farmer on one of the largest browser game successes in history, that one could find this critic entertaining his self on such a platform. One of the first things that became apparent, after succumbing to the allure of these micro-games, was the amazing artistic outlet that they provide for the creative individual. The accompanying game artwork as well as the fan art has provided an endless outlet for artistic expression that gives my heart and soul an unmistakeable inner glow.

   Today we are talking about a game that has the benefit of a successful franchise: Battlestar Galactica. Bigpoint has taken this opportunity to impress the boys at Syfy, and it is a big bite, but is it too big for Bigpoint to chew? Only the test of time can confirm a solid answer to such a question. Yet, bringing this franchise to life online may offer them a chance to earn swag with the online gamer community. The scrutiny will be immense. The expectations are high. And heavy anticipation can lead to ruin. Let's take a look at how we scored Battlestar Galactica Online and why we feel it earns this score, then let you decide.

GAME PLAY: 8

   Browser game indeed! This is the first time I have seen a browser game with a semi-free-move three dimensional world. Albeit the rooms are somewhat small but the potential for growth through added systems alone, makes this an exciting game to keep your eye on as it grows and develops. That is not to say that it isn't fun to play now, because it is. Traveling from system to system is made possible through the infamous FTL (Faster Than Light) drives and is powered by the most common resource: Tylium.

   If dog fighting in space, with the ships you've seen in the movies, comic books and read about in the novels, gets your blood pumping than know that this game is doing a great job at delivering on that fantasy. The controls are unique and fun and offer a fairly direct control interface to those ships. Integrating the impact of skills directly to a pilots ship maneuvering abilities was handled very well, so the more you train in a certain skill the more responsive your ships will be to your commands.

  Minerals are the primary resource in the game: tylium, titanium and ice. Tylium is the primary resource and so is used as a form of currency. Cubits are like an additional form of currency that are directly tied to ice. They can also be purchased with real currency (USD). Titanium, on the other hand, can be used to repair your damaged ships or can be traded for tylium. Finally, there is also a loot drop of various values that can be picked up from enemy wreckage or debris floating in space.

   Experience points are earned through action and accumulated to "purchase" skills. This is how it works: fly out into space => destroy a malfunctioning drone/blast ore out of an asteroid => earn experience points => once enough points have been accumulated to purchase the skill that you want you purchase skill and begin to learn that skill => after specified time has passed you now have that skill. This is a very interesting set-up and I cannot say for certain that I approve. The drawback is that players can purchase experience points with currency and thereby have the ability to surpass committed players.

  

GRAPHICS: 7

   The graphics in this game have amazing potential. There needs to be more detail orientation, a wider variety of customization options and a little lighting work done, but visually BGO does deliver. The asteroids are done well, the planets and the backgrounds are nice...but nothing really jumps out at you as stunning. However the rendering of large objects from afar is done superbly. This is a weakness in even some of the larger original MMO franchises but has been successfully addressed by the Bigpoint team.

   Lightening needs to be re-tooled to offer a more spectacular environment. The level of realism that could be added by adding more graphical edges on ships and revamping the lightening could be a programming teams nightmare, but the results would be phenomenal in this unique universe. The motions and mechanics for the rest of the game are adequate and are for the most part stable with only rare graphical anomalies.

 
SOUND/MUSIC: 8

    The sound effects are unique and distinguished. Much of this could correlate to the immense capabilities of Syfy and it certainly adds to the overall quality of the game. The fade over to a more upbeat tempo upon enemy contact is a high quality feature and makes perfect use of the emotion triggers that can really add that glimmer to a finished game. In addition to adding excitement it helps ease your eyes from having to dart back and forth between your dradis, HUD, module cycles and other such piloting responsibilities that divides the Cylons from the Toasters.

   The music tracks are a little too few in number but they are original. The music does seem a little out of theme whereas it has a more tribal feel. Is that appropriate for a futuristic science fiction game? While I cannot answer that I can say that they somehow manage to pull it off quite successfully. Although I know there is very likely little-to-no real ambient noises in space a game can make some interesting pseudo ones. Garbled, static-laden or cryptic communication noise is a favorite of mine, a warbling noise when close to large objects and even the shuddering noise of a large engine as other ship flies by all add to the feel of a space game.

FREE vs. P2P: 6

   While there is nothing that can be done without spending currency the immediate advantages to doing so certainly gives your enemy an upper hand. But this isn't that big of a surprise as the incentives offer the company a way in which to financially support the game and it's staff.  What really discredits this game in this category is the incessant adverts to spend USD upon your death. It is an additional slap in the face to the sudden realization that you have lost that battle. 

          +5 <Annoying points>

   Committed players will still eventually be able to compete with even the wealthiest of players, but the climb from level 10 to level 20 is slow and painful. Being able to purchase those higher grade ships early in the game allows players to accumulate wealth and experience points faster. This of course offers a sense of achievement that is otherwise missing. This can either be a big issue or a small one depending on the player . I became frustrated at my ineffectiveness at contributing to large fleet battles where the massive ships of BGO were colliding and the ease with which enemy players could locate and destroy me.

DEPTH: 4

   With a fantastic story, a successful franchise, well developed characters and an epic conflict you would think that Bigpoint would have had no problem nailing this one. But the sad truth is that they have epically failed. Harvest asteroids, shoot stuff, that about sums it up. There is no storyline, no character development, no goals aside from be the best at killing. Today's gaming community wants more than that. They want to see their contributions impacting the game, they want to make their mark.

 
OVERALL: 6.6

  This game specifically caters to the PvPer with their system dominance features and open universe. Maps display where the enemy is setting up shop, where they are harvesting minerals, even where the heaviest battles are taking place. There is absolutely nothing stopping a level 100 player from seeking out and destroying you at level 4. Aside from your own attention to your surroundings and to your dradis.

   The universe has approximately 60 solar systems each side designated  with two or three "safe zones" where the enemy cannot enter. The resources there are scarce and the NPCs are a waste of time after level 10. Combat is your major source of wealth but the enemy NPCs still use squadron tactics on you, so flying solo is unrealistic until you are flying larger ships. What's worse is that once you try to mine a planetoid, which coincidentally provides players with the most convenient return of resources per minute, a symbol will come up on the map to alert everyone that you are mining in that system. Now you must defend the mining ship against attack from NPCs and enemy players as well.

   Ultimately this is a fun game. There are just so many fails at helping the newer players gain ownership in the game that this felt more like a fan club than a game. The pilots that are ever going to be a big impact are already there, you are just entering to provide cannon fodder for the enemy. I cannot verify that every server fail in balance but I can assure you that there are no real balancing mechanisms from keeping one faction from constant domination. In Aerilon the Human faction always outweighed the Cylon and so it was nearly impossible for me to accomplish anything, including my dailys.