Posted in: Games, Review, Video Games | Tagged: game review, Halcyon 6, Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition, indie, Massive Damage Inc., Procedurally Generated, rpg, sci-fi, space, Strategy (turn-based)

Exploiting More Of The Cosmos: We Review 'Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition'

Back in December, we got this awesome turn-based strategy game called Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander for Steam that was both awesome and hilarious. That game felt like a mesh of a dozen different sci-fi games and properties I've loved over the years as it took a stern look at space being just as incompetent, greedy, and filled with possible death as earth is. All tied to the idea of building your own galactic empire out of nothing. Now nearly a year later, Massive Damage Inc. has released a new version of the game with a lot more in store called Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition.

Since the game is already out, we're going to graze over the game itself and then get to some of the new additions. First and foremost, Halcyon 6's turn-based system is probably one of the best systems we've had a chance to play in the past few years, as there's a great balance of characters, enemies, choices, and hard decisions to make throughout the game. It's also nice to have a base storyline in play that you don't have to follow immediately and can simply take on tasks as you feel like them until you decide to pick up where you left off.

The sheer amount of stuff you can do in the game from exploring the cosmos to improving your skill tree to expanding your roster of characters and job classes to just simply working on your ship until you have the model you like is insane. Other reviewers out there will tell you that you can get lost for hours in this game, and it is absolutely true. I wasted a good three hours on a couple of characters to make sure they were the best mechanics they could be, got them to Level 6 and put them in a position to where most enemies couldn't even handle their greatness.

Some of the new additions to the Lightspeed Edition include three new prestige classes and six new subclasses, each with their own distinct abilities and flaws for different officers. The campaign itself, as well as the functions in the game, have been improved from the original, so even though you can get lost for long periods of time, you can also do a lot more int hat time than before. The ship loadout and configuration screen have been given a change as well, which will help you better organize ships and the dock itself.

Another fun addition has been a new difficulty mode with the Vice Admiral setting. Enemies become stronger, the galaxy becomes a little more fierce, resources are lower, and the general vibe when negotiating with other species is that you're generally disliked. The combat system has also gotten an enhancement which will make fighting a bit easier, but also give you more options on how to deal with both hand-to-hand combat and space fights.

Overall, Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition is still an amazing game. I'm probably going to kill the game I setup for review and move on in a different direction just for fun. There's so much to do in this game that it is ridiculous to figure out where to start and stop, and I don't believe you could ever get bored with it if you keep exploring the options available to you. This is definitely a game you need to buy.

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