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Review: Tachyon
By Raul "Datajack" RodriguezOkay I admit it - I like space sims. As a huge Star Wars fan, I always rushed to buy any computer game that was Star Wars related. I remember the days of X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Instantly I fell in love with those games and spent countless hours playing them. Then later came X-Wing Alliance. I enjoyed this game too, although by now it was much of the same, just better looking. I also tried games like Wing Commander and Wing Commander: Pirates. Why do I mention this? Because if your reading this article and you've played both WC: Pirates and the X-Wing series from Lucasarts Games then you'll find Tachyon to be very familiar, but a lot better.
The StoryAfter playing Tachyon for a while, I got the sensation that someone out there played both of these games and said, "I can make these better." and set out to do just that. Tachyon is very similar to X-Wing in the way you fly and fight. For example, you can draw power to shields, weapons or engines and set your shield strength forward, aft, port or starboard just like in X-Wing. At the same time, you fight for money. You use this money to buy better ships and better weapons and equipment for your ship(s). Anyway enough of an overview, let's get into the specifics!
Fig. 1. Jumping threw a tachyon gateThe story takes place in the 26th century. At this point, we humans have inhabited our solar system. Through a technology called a Tachyon gate, it is possible to quickly travel to places in the solar system where another gate has been placed. The governing body is known as the USG (United Sol Government) which handles creation of the laws and their enforcement through the Star Patrol. In this world you play Jake Logan, a pilot-for-hire. After a few missions, you are convicted of a crime you didn't commit and sent to the fringe. The fringe is an area of space where the USG has little reach. Here, you must begin all over again as a pilot-for-hire. Eventually you must select a faction to join: Galspan or the Bora.
InterfaceThe Galspan is the Mega Corporation. The Bora is a group of settlers that oppose the corporation's control and fight for their freedom to live in peace. Each faction has it's own set of ships that you can choose from, and it's own set of missions. In effect, this gives you two possible campaigns to play.
Fig. 2. Tachyon's Main MenuThe Interface is simple and easy to use. You have the choice of a Single Player Game or a Multiplayer Game (more on multiplayer later). When selecting a Single Player game, you can choose to load an existing game or start a new one. Once you begin a game (or continue one in progress), you will see one of a few Control rooms. From here you also have an Options screen that allows you to set customize Graphics, Controllers, Sound and keyboard mappings.
