Artillery-based strategy games almost come a dime a dozen nowadays, but I have to admit that “Interplanetary” pushes the boundaries far beyond this planet (pardon the pun). For those of you not familiar with the genre, these turn-based games task players with launching their projectiles at the other players in an attempt to wipe them out. If you’ve played any of the games in the “Worms” series, you’ll know what I’m talking about. In this case, you and your opponent(s) each control a planet in the same solar system. By earning and spending resources, you can build various weapons and send their projectiles flying through space. Will your resources be plentiful and your aim be true? Before I briefly touch on this project, I’d like to thank Sasu Kemppainen from Team Jolly Roger for reaching out and providing me with access to the Alpha. As with all prototypes and games in development, it’s important to stress that they aren’t usually representative of the final product.
Interplanetary (Windows, Mac, Linux)
As I mentioned in the last part of my opening paragraph, this game is very much a work in progress. For example, I had access to all of the weapons and structures currently in the game, but there is a tech tree mechanic in the works that will make players work to earn said structures. At present, there are only a few offensive and defensive buildings with which to mess around, but they gave me a general feel for how the game is played. Construct a building or two, target/aim weapons, end turn…very simple. I was glad for the simplicity, namely because despite appearances, the game is fairly challenging. It’s worth noting that there is no AI support yet, but my earlier statement still stands.
For one, you just can’t point and shoot your weapons at the other planet for there are space-based physics to consider. The trajectory of your projectiles will change, for example, as they near the sun or another planetary body. Before you even get to that point however, you’ll have to first construct resource generating buildings on your planet. I liked that you could actually choose where to physically place these structures, as the planet’s rotation plays both an offensive and defensive role during the game. In terms of weaponry, you’ll have lasers, rail guns, and missiles at your disposal (at least, for now) with each carrying their own unique characteristics in terms of resource cost and accuracy. How you choose to build up your planet will ultimately affect how well you do when the action begins to heat up.
The game shows a lot of promise and is well worth a look. “Interplanetary”, I feel, has all of the ingredients for a potentially outstanding game. Currently, there isn’t a way to buy into the Alpha just yet nor is there an estimated buy-in price, though the game is among the many that show promise on Steam’s Greenlight page. Desura’s Alpha Funding program is also a possibility…we’ll have to wait a bit more and see what direction the developers decide to take. In the meantime, I’m personally looking forward to seeing what new features will be introduced in the upcoming builds. While you wait, feel free to check out my gameplay videos featured below as they go a bit more into detail. There’s also a downloadable zip file on the Greenlight page (link below) that will allow you to try the Alpha for yourself.
Editor’s Note: As a quick update (as of 4/16/14), the game has been Greenlit and will be available on Steam’s Early Access page starting April 18th. I’ve updated the links below to reflect this. The Steam link will work once the game goes live on Steam’s Early Access program on the aforementioned date.
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You can learn more about and support the game by visiting the following websites:
http://interplanetary.weebly.com/
You can find the game on Steam, here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/278910
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRbuNv7Gp0M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uPvPWzblgc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3xfHPq3ng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2eqTAqG1dM
This looks ace