Starport Galactic Empires

Overview

"Starport Galactic Empires" is a 2D Sci-Fi space exploration MMO with an open PvP system in place of specific PvP servers.

Features

• Pvp and non PvP servers for different play styles
• Huge game world
• Very different than your average free MMO
• Movement and exploration done well for a 2D game

Review

Starport is a free-to-play game created shortly after EVE Online was released and the similarities are obvious. Even character creation is strangely familiar to anyone who has played EVE. Starport has dozens of servers, which is odd since each server has no more than two dozen players on at a time. With around 1000 solar systems per server and only 20 players, the odds of encountering another player in Starport is minimal.

I should note that account creation is done inside the game so there is no need to sign up on the official site. Players start out in a small ship and are guided through the basic game controls and interface via a tutorial. 2-D graphics may sound strange in a space game but they work surprisingly well here. The tutorial will teach you the basics but won'€™t give you any direction on what to do in Starport Galactic Empires. Direction is the second major problem in Starport (behind population). Like EVE, Starport is very open ended, leaving it to players to forge their own path. Most servers have open PvP which adds some excitement to the tedious ''trading' between solar systems which is how players earn money. Players can land and explore moons but there'€™s really not much to explore on these barren maze-like environments.

One interesting feature in Starport is the use of Warp Fuel. Warping from one star system to another requires fuel which can only be replenished over time or by large sums of money, which serves to limit how much a player can advance in one day allowing newer players or those who don'€™t play as often a chance to catch up. Starport is a one of a kind game in the free-to-play field and can best be described as the poor man'€™s EVE Online. Unfortunately, the nearly empty population drags Startport: Galactic Empires into the ''Do not bother'€ category.