In which Bruce Campbell takes a break from pounding zombies, and turns his attention to outer space...

Streamlined

Space is not, as the jump-suited adventurers keep telling us, the final frontier. There are many things that homo sapiens has yet to conquer: the deepest ocean trenches, the inordinately complex world of genetic manipulation, and just what happens to all those cheeky odd socks that go astray when washday comes.

And even though no-one’s yet made something as advanced as the warp drive, or figured out how to zip through wormholes, there’s plenty of fictional subject matter for inspiration. Tachyon takes its cues from the best and, here and there, the worst of science-fiction, as it creates the universe in which you’ll fly missions of mercy and destruction. The best bits are great because Tachyon thrusts you into every schoolboy’s dream, but the occasional duff bits are plain cheesy.

Take the main character: Jake Logan. Please. Well, we can perhaps forgive him this trespass, as he speaks with the voice of Bruce Campbell, veteran of the Evil Dead movies. After all, he does have a pretty winsome way of saying things. Look a little further, and you’ll spot a welter of elements lifted from other space sims: Elite-style radar, pop-up screens showing your wingmen when they have something to report, and the inevitable energy-management element, to name but a few.

But forge past the devices that Tachyon openly pinches (and with good reason) from the Wing Commanders, Privateers and X-Wings of this world, and you’ll find an enjoyable, absorbing, and really rather weighty space combat sim. Set in the 26th century, you play the role of a renowned pilot, contracted to fly missions for one of the many mega-corporations that rule the outer reaches of the galaxy. You’ll start in Sol system, and the initial training missions there are really all you’ll need to get up to speed in terms of piloting and combat skills.

Your first few proper assignments lead you in gently, and introduce a hint of the mission variety that you’ll come to cherish as you work through the game. Earn cash to spend on new weapons and upgrades, zip through the first few missions, get a bit of experience and cash under your belt, and...

...you’ll find yourself, through an unavoidable plot-twist, dropped roughly in the stink. The luxury of having a powerful, well-equipped ship around you is yanked from your grasp, and you’re left with a piddling little bum-spec Skoda of a ship. It’s actually a pretty good feeling, as you’ll find that every battle is that much harder-fought, and the rewards commensurately greater. Exiled from Sol System, you find yourself on The Fringe, and it’s here that the game really begins.

So, armed with a flying dustbin, the meagre skills you’ve picked up already and precious little else, you’ll find yourself zipping between space stations, checking out notice boards for job opportunities, and generally trying to claw your way back up the galactic food chain.
It’s here you’ll find the benefits of the many Tachyon gates that connect different regions of space – but you have to wonder why you’re made to sit through a tedious panning shot of your ship, every time you warp. Hrrmph.

If you’ve ever played the likes of Freespace, the flight mechanics and control system will be instantly familiar; and even if you haven’t, things are pretty straight-forward, even if it is damnably hard to hit the bad guys with some of the more powerful weapons – they don’t sit still for long.

The multi-player game is also surprisingly good; rather than being some stripped-down fob-off of the single-player game, it has a host of options all of its own. Novalogic even have a dedicated server – Novaworld – where you can initiate and join Internet games with up to 127 other players. Things can get pretty hairy when you’re dog fighting through enormous floating scrap fields where all the furniture spins independently. Top stuff.

Above all else, Tachyon is a well-rounded game. It’s good-looking too – the textures aren’t spectacular, but there’s quite enough in the way of fireworks, ship design and nebula effects to keep your eyes smiling. And while it may not be as earth-shattering as X-Wing was when it first came on the scene, it’s engaging, well-paced, and a joy to play. It looks like Bruce hasn’t lost
his touch.

		Original it might not be, but Tachyon is top-notch dog-fighting fun. Solid and competent.