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| Enemies lurk at every corner | Although Space Hack’s presentation doesn’t redefine its genre, the settings and scenery are a nice change of pace |
The beginning of the game thrusts players into the midst of a space-like hijacking, with no opportunity to tweak Hack’s abilities, weapons, or other character stats. Instead, you’ve got to make your way through the first of a series of some 45 odd levels in order to strengthen and advance your character, providing for motivation and variable gameplay. A nice addition to this age old formula is the fact that each level or biosphere has its own ecosystem, enhancing imaginative gameplay.
As with most old school RPGs, weapons, armor and other items are primarily collected after a defeated energy drops them. But in addition to items, enemies can also drop attribute enhancement cells as well as energy cells, which not only fuel some of your special abilities and spells, but also act as your form of currency to purchase health, identify items, and modify or buy weapons and armor. In addition, energy cells are also required to use special advanced weapons later on in gameplay.
Being that you’ll receive most of your energy/currency and items from defeated enemies who’ve dropped them, it’s a good thing that there are plenty from the get-go. So many, in fact that you’ll have to start out choosing your battles very carefully, as you can easily become overwhelmed. The good news is, the more enemies you kill, the quicker your character will advance to the next level, allowing him to hold more inventory, increase skill points, and eventually use special weapons. The bad news is, enemies don’t regenerate once you’ve cleared them, meaning that there’s a large but limited amount of ways to advance via alien slaughter. In my opinion, this aspect isn’t so bad: it definitely lends the way for more strategic gameplay. Also, there are many hidden areas throughout the different boards, where you’ll find lots of special goodies.
In addition to traditional enemy battles, Hack will also have to destroy alien ova that is scattered throughout the ship. Items and cells can also be acquired by doing so.
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| Almost all the biospheres have their own unique ecosystems | This game features the traditional point and click navigation system |
Players can also acquire special biochips by defeating enemies and ova that will enhance Hack’s basic abilities. The chips can be used to transport Hack from any location within a board, as well as to heal him, create holograms, and even identify objects that he will pick up along the way. These chips make a nice addition to the futuristic theme of the game.
In Space Hack, players can look forward to using both traditional weapons such as bows and swords as well as more original items such as ice and magnetic guns. The wide range of weaponry puts a modern touch on this otherwise reminiscent game which relies so heavily on older PC adventures. But on the down side, the game features no weapons slots with which to equip multiple weapons. As a result, players can’t switch between ranged and melee weapons while in combat.
Playing as Hack, you’ll come across a number of communication and teleportation stations, both of which are very handy. At communication stations, you’ll learn more about yourself, your ship, the enemy, and your objectives; this is essentially the main way in which the storyline advances. Teleportation stations enable you to jump between boards, which are extremely convenient since enemies are limited and so backtracking, is pretty much pointless.
Teleportation stations will also get you back and forth to home base, where you can buy weapons, upgrades, and armor, receive health for free, talk to informed characters, and pay to identify items. This is usually worth the while, as more often than not, you’ll be able to turn around and sell the item for a profit. These things, however, is just about the only reason you’ll ever have to get back to base in the first place.
As we mentioned earlier, Hack’s main objective is to fight his way to the emergency transportation ships. While the mission might sound simple on paper, doing so is definitely a challenge. Adding to that challenge is the many mini-quests Hack will have the option of completing, in order to advance himself as well as overall gameplay.
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| Alien enemies are relatively smart, and will gang up on you | Teleportation stations come in handy |
SPACE HACK VERDICT
Basically, Space Hack boils down to an entertaining game, especially for being a budget title. This game certainly doesn’t reinvent its genre; there are no ground-breaking graphics, the sound is so-so (lacking any audible dialogue), and the presentation/mechanics follow suit in terms of previous PC games such as Diablo (which this game is more or less modeled after). But with that being said, it’s still quite fun to play, especially given its space-age makeover.
TOP GAME MOMENT
I’d have to say that Space Hack’s finest moments are when the character levels up. Once this happens, players are able to tweak Hack’s skills and abilities, which add to replay value in the respect that you’ll essentially have the option of creating a different kind of fighter each and every time you play. Leveling up also adds variety to your existing game, as your character will eventually evolve and advance in different areas. It’s not the best gaming moment ever, but it is definitely one of the most rewarding aspects of this title!
