X3: Reunion

"I'll see you in space..."

X3 Reunion is a space simulator set in the so-called X-Universe, which is plagued by a ferocious enemy known as the Kha'ak. Find your place among the races of the X-Universe by commanding a fleet, building a vast economic empire, being a pirate or simply an explorer. Or do all of the above. It's all possible in X3 Reunion, if you can overcome the steep learning curve and the slow beginning...

Story: 7/10
The story features a man names Julian Brennan, a former pirate gone good. Right in the middle of the Kha'ak conflict, Julian must find out what links a ship with the power to disappear, a set of mysterious crystals, a ruthless pirate clan and the reason why the Kha'ak are invading together.

The story isn't that good actually. While it does give some answers to the mysteries of the X-Universe, and it has a pretty decent ending, many questions are left unanswered. We can only hope that X4 can answer them. This game doesn't really need a storyline anyway, it's mostly added for some structure. You can also choose to start without a story and start playing immediatly

Gameplay: 9/10
In X3, you'll be spending 99% of your time in space. Even when you're docked, you're still in your ship. There are many ships in X3, and they're all different. Ships of the same class will play in a similar fashion, but there are still many differences.

Teladi ships for instance are well shielded and have lots of cargo space, but they're generally slower and less maneuverable. Paranid ships are well balanced combat vessels, but they lack cargo space. Argon ships are mediocre, with no strong or weak points. Split ships are fast and aggressive, but carry less shielding. And finally Boron ships are generally better shielded, with decent speed, but weaker weapons.

There's also a large difference between ship classes. M5 scout ships are very fast and agile, but have little shielding, hull, and few weapons. M3 fighters are slower, but survive much better in combat. Carriers and destroyers are very slow, and turn very slowly. They make up for it with their enormous firepower and shielding though. M6 corvettes cover the middle ground between fighters and capital ships. Freighters have huge cargo space, but they are very slow and have but a basic turret for self defence. As you can see, there's a large variety of ships to choose from. And we haven't even been to weapons yet.

Impulse Ray Emitters are weak, rapid firing weapons which are best used against M5 ships or missiles. High Energy Plasma Throwers are better against larger fighters and corvettes due to their high rate of fire and powerful impact. Mass Drivers completely ignore shields and go directly for the hull instead, but they require ammunition. Ion disruptors only do shield damage and they fry electronic equipment. Missiles are costly, but they can track targets and deal a powerful blow.

You can also command fleets and lead them in battle. With the right software, your ships will patrol your stations, act as your wingmen, cover your escape and so on. You can get more ships by buying them at a shipyard, salvage abandoned ones or capture them in battle.

If you're not interested in fighting, you can always trade and build an economic empire. In X3, the economy always changes. Supply and demand is one of the main rules here. If a factory is low on energy cells, they'll pay more than if they had a full stock left. Their products are also more expensive if they only have a few of it left. You can order ships of yours to become Sector and Universal traders, which can trade with your money and give you the profit. If you have some spare cash, you can choose to buy and place a factory of your own. It'll produce goods if it has the necessary resources and NPC's will buy from you if they like your price. You can even connect your factories to completely remove the need to transport goods between them.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are simply beautiful. Each ship, station and planet is well detailed. Ships have glowing engines that burn brighter if you're flying faster, little navigation lights, small pipes attached to your engines and some even have moving parts like radar systems. Boron ships actually look organic, Teladi ships look like they're built with scrap parts, Argon ships have that distinct fighter look to them, Split ships are arrow shaped for maximum speed and Paranid ships are well rounded, with only a few edges left.

Factories look like hubs connected with skeletal tubes, through which you can see the goods moving from one hub to another.

Planets can vary in looks and size. Some will look similar to Earth, while others are brown, grey and even scarred with lava.

Weapon effects are also very nice. Impulse Ray Emitters have little orange bolts, while Photon Pulse Cannons launch bright blue balls of pure destruction. Even missiles will leave a black smoke trail, although it's pretty hard to see.

Sound & Music: 8/10
Another great job here. While flying through sectors, you can enjoy the excellent background music. Core sectors feature calm music, border and pirate sectors will sound more active and dangerous and some Xenon sectors just sound creepy, which really gives you the feeling that you're in enemy territory, and that it's best to turn back.

The sound effects are pretty well done. Your engines burn constantly in third person view, lasers will have a high pitched fire sound and shots hitting your hull will give a distinct metal sound. Missiles sound very realistic too when they fly past you.

The voices are pretty well done too. Humans will sound like, well, regular humans, the Split have a harsh voice, the Paranid a very heavy voice and the Boron a peaceful, gentle voice. Teladi talk very quickly, Because when they talk, they lose time and thus profit.

Replayability: 9/10
X3 Reunion never ends. Even if the plot does, the game doesn't. You can keep building your empire, expanding your fleet, raiding the pirate sectors. It might get a bit boring after a while, but there are always new opportunities to be found in the X-universe. Besides, there's nothing like a good dogfight whilst flying between two fleets blasting the heck out of each other.

Overall: 9/10
X3 Reunion is great. While it lacks a decent plot, it doesn't really need it anyway. The lack of online play might limit X3 in a way, but singleplayer is more than good enough to interest you for a long time. This is definitely a game which every space simulator fan should have in their collection.

One last note though: This isn't a game for the casual gamer, since X3 requires a lot of time and starts out very slowly before things get moving. If you have lots of free time and enjoy clawing yourself to the top of a game, then X3 is a great choice for you. However, if you don't have much time and prefer a fast paced game, then X3 isn't a good game for you. Games like Freelancer might be a better option then.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/07

Game Release: X3: Reunion (EU, 10/28/05)