An exciting new ship has been built to begin anew Earth’s conquest of space. We had colonized many planets, using a jump gate technology coupled with robot terraformers. Over the years, the terraformers had developed their own intelligence and became a threat to humanity. In our infinite wisdom, we destroyed the jump gates in an effort to stop the terraformers from reaching and destroying Earth. Success was bought with a steep price — our means of traversing the galaxy was lost. This new prototype ship is mankind’s latest hope of deep space travel.

Your mission is to successfully travel through deep space, providing proof positive that the technology works. If you succeed, deep space travel will be available once again to mankind. After long grueling hours of tests and training, you have been chosen as the pilot of this craft. The testing is not over yet; you must submit to additional shakedown tests, but these are in the ship, not on the ground.

The shakedown tests start off easy. First, you demonstrate the ability to increase the speed of the engines. Next, you stop the engines. Child’s play. This is followed by an obstacle course that is made up of what appears to be the old jump gates. You must maneuver your ship through all the rings to successfully complete this phase of the tests. Don’t hit a ring, or you have to start the course all over again! The last few trials are all fairly simple, but are meant to assist you in operating the craft in expert fashion.

You have the ability to skip the tests, but I recommend you don’t — you must prove your ability to maneuver your vessel. Believe me, you will be glad you did complete these exams! The various keystroke commands are fairly easy to remember. You control your craft with gamepad, joystick, mouse or keyboard. I learned that it was easier to control my ship with the keyboard, as this is the I/O device used for other commands, as well.

Once you have made the lightspeed jump to another galaxy, you meet with what appears to be a friendly alien. You soon find out that he is of the Teladi, a race of friendly traders. He communicates with you interactively. You are given a list of preset questions and/or answers to give to him, and he responds to them. By following along carefully, you will learn how to proceed from this point in the game.

In one of my experiences, I arrived in the next galaxy with my ship in bad shape (the vessel transported me around, but it was not battle–ready). I found that my shields were, well, non–existent. The alien explains to you that you can get some of the needed repair parts for your craft at some of the local factories and trading ports. You have no form of currency (credits), so you will have to find a way to trade to get what you need. Thankfully, this alien race embraces the barter system, so you have a fighting chance. The Teladi also informs you of two specific alien beings: the Argons and the Xenons. The Argons are friendly, and would be willing to help you. The Xenons are enemies of the Teladi, and are considered dangerous. Be very careful to avoid the Xenon, as, in reality, they are the terraformers that Earth had originally created! They will not hesitate to crush a Terran!

During this phase, you explore the different quadrants, looking everywhere for possible trading partners. Use your ship’s radar targeting mechanism to identify things that surround you. You can dock almost everywhere; all creature–created edifices have a dock. You only need to call for permission to land. During your docking, be extra careful; a rough landing could cost you the game and your trading rights!

During your bartering, learn as much as possible about your surroundings (trading needs, items for sale, dangers). Attempt to trade anything once, but be wary of items that are illegal, such as Spaceweed. Only the pirates and the Teladi trade it, since it has been banned throughout the galaxy.

The technical aspects (design and UI) of the game are quite good. Installation of the game was a snap, and the documentation was extremely well done. The game’s high–resolution, rendered objects are awesome! Many of the first–person views are breathtaking, giving the impression of watching a movie rather than playing a game. Sound effects are very good, but some of the alien conversations are difficult to understand, although I personally believe this title was designed in that manner to offer an "alien" voice effect. EgoSoft and THQ have certainly done their homework with this one!

This game is a must have for any serious science–fiction buff! The successful melding of a spacecraft flight sim with a strategy game creates a most absorbing gaming experience! I did not attempt to get my ship back home to Earth, since I enjoy the bartering experience too much to stop! Let’s see what else there is to trade . . .