Nexus: The Jupiter Incident

Someone once called Nexus Ground Control in space and they couldn't have come closer to the truth. As a Tactical Fleet Simulation (as the designers decided to call their new genre), it offers everything a starfleet commander could want, but could not get in other games. While in some game series you command a fighter or at best, a single capital ship through several mission (Homeworld being the wonderful exception in this regard), in Nexus you control an ever growing fleet, from the orbit of Jupiter to an astounding and (spoiler alert) universe-saving outcome. Contrary to many sci-fi games, Nexus tries to follow certain hard science rules that are otherwise eschewed in the name of simplicity or fun. But don't allow yourself to be bothered or taken aback but the physics of it all. In actuality it makes the game far more enjoyable and battles are longer than what it usually takes to fire your torpedoes/missiles and finish of the enemy in one blow. The weapons and other ship systems at your disposal allow you to create your own strategies. Will you go in guns blazing with your fleet overcoming enemy flak with a multitude of missiles or will you try the stealth approach and disable enemy weapons up close with specialised armament? What may come as a surprise to many a gamer, the weapons for destroying ship hulls and disabling ships are separate, which means that you need to think carefully of your layout and let me tell you, that extra shield drain weapon will come in more handy than the hull obliterating stuff. You also need to take into account explosion radius and I have lost many a mission when an exploding enemy capital ship from a couple of kilometres away wiped out a huge chuck of my fleet. As well as having great control over the command of your fleet, you also have the opportunity to enjoy quite stunning visuals for the time and a widescreen mod can easily be found. The music also complements the action greatly and keeps you at the edge of your seat. In conclusion, all I can say is, if you enjoyed Ground Control and/or Homeworld and if you ever wanted to feel like an admiral in a game that respects your choices and offers true consequences for you military tactics, than this is the game for you.

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is ... Well I won't just repeat what other reviews said, it's quite simply an excellent piece. It's got it all: tactical gameplay where you won't get far without planning ahead and actually thinking troughout battles (no choice really since you only get a limited number of ships that you can equip however you want troughout the missions,) great graphics that really nail the feeling of space combat, huge explosions, ships going pew pew everywhere, battle damage actually showing up on hull until only a lifeless, drifting hulk remains. Really, it's brilliant. But that is not all there is to it. The game also has a really engaging story, with some solid writing and voice acting, that can get you completely immersed in the world. You get everything: Captain logs, ship-to ship barter, your crew regulary informs you of new developments or just talk to each other, it quite simply has a lot of personality. The only sad thing is that this gem has been so overlooked. I really hope that this gog release remedies this at least a bit - it's just too good of a game to miss.

This game hits the spot. It is a tactical space battling game, but has somewhat little management and more straightforward tactics. (there is some management with the ship systems like shields, but I found that I rarely need to alter them in the heat of the action) It still is not easy, it is common to blow a mission by doing some stupid move that costs the whole deal, somewhat like life itself. Still, fast reaction times are not something that is essential, because the game has a relatively slow pace. The decisions you make as the commander of a fleet mean much more. This way, it almost has a roleplaying feel to it, but is not overly deep. Cinematics seem beautiful and, well, cinematic. I've not yet explored much of the plot, but it seems solid. Nothing exceptional, but solid. Music is your typical sci-fi score, and it works well enough. The game has some shortcomings too, unfortunately. The feeling of decisionmaking extends so far, that it occasionally feels like I actually have little control to the exacts. For example, one can not (as far as I know, I still haven't found a command for it if such exists) make very accurate maneuvers, since the only commands you can give relate to the other ships and spacestations. You can close in on any target or escape from them, but it is hard to move into a flanking position, for example. This is especially painful because certain scenarios include minefields, meaning that you have little room to maneuver. Usually the ships evade collisions automatically, but I found out the hard way that this doesn't include minefields. (I was escaping because one of my ships had taken a little too much beating -- the damn vessel escaped right into a minefield) Same goes for fighters and boarding craft -- they'll merrily fly right into their doom through a heavily fortified position if that is the shortest way to their target instead of circling from a safe distance. This is especially notable when you need to board something to complete a mission -- get your space marines killed and it is game over (a very easy thing to do). Thus far these seem to be the major weak points, but I reckong I'll get over them by adapting my playstyle as I learn more of this game. At this point I am already sure it is a bargain, though.

I just want to put it here that the game's multiplayer is not dead, just moved to the likes of Hamachi, or Tunngle (It has a permanent room for the game). There is still a small but active community around it. Try this site for example: http://arparso.de/nexus/forum/index.php The game has some nice mods too. A few new stories, and some total conversions. You can find them on MODdb i think. I've played the game through a few times love it, still one of my favourites, but i think the developers missed some opportunities with the engine, and the story. First, the engine: in all the briefings you'll see that each will take place around different plantes or moons with the routs between them, but the player has no possibility to choose where he wants to go. It would have been nice if the player had the opportunity to go from place to place as he wanted, and pursue the missions as he desired. Maybe the story prevented it, who knows, i just hope the sequel will have this feature! Also the free movment system of the game is terrible. I wish they had borrowed Homeworlds movement system, or improved on it... Second, the story: All the starter ships in the game are basic, without shields, and the player has them for like 3 missions or so, then there is a technical jump. Wich leaves a big gap and misses a lot of plot opportinites. So if you don't like this big jump in tech, there is a story mod, that fills in this gap, called: Universe Conflicts. I advise anyone who loved the game to try it out! IMHO it is even better then the original story! It goes back to the 3 corporations' struggle with each other in the solar system, with a more granular advancement.