Commraderie, exciting combat and RPG elements make this RTS both incredibly unique and addictive.
When you first take a look at Nexon's Shattered Galaxy, you think "StarCraft." Heck, many of the units look very similar and some even have similar functions. Not to mention the battlegrounds will seem very familiar (albeit with a more urban flair rather than just being out in the middle of some field). That much is to be expected from many Korean companies who have tried to copy the very successful StarCraft/Diablo formula, but very few seem to expand on the general idea of either of those games. Shattered Galaxy is one of those precious few.
To get straight to the point, SG's main selling point is that it is the first MMORTS game (Massively Multiplayer Online Real Time Strategy for those that don't know the lingo). So what does that mean? Imagine playing StarCraft or Command & Conquer, except now you're battling with many other players for control over entire planets. Each planet itself is split up into a number of different provinces that are roughly the same size as a conventional map from any other RTS game allowing for lots of real estate to eat up.
You begin the game by entering some personal data for registration purposes, picking a character model (it's only for looks), allocating points to each of your four attributes, choosing a planet (you'll only be able to fight on newbie planets once you start), and then one of four factions you're willing to sacrifice your life for (once a gain, it doesn't matter which; pick your favorite color). Now you're ready to begin.
A helpful tutorial will take you through the rigors of this *very* robust game (the manual itself clocks in at 136 pages) and introduce you to the basics. Of course, if you like to dive headfirst into a game, it's pretty accessible that way, too. Once you're ready to fight, you head over to the Unit Assembly Factory and purchase some units (up to 48) using your faction's pool of resources. There are resources in this game, but they come from grabbing land and winning battles, making it much more fun to concentrate more on fighting and less on mining. There's also a Unit Development Facility where you'll be able to upgrade each unit's chassis and exchange parts once you get them to higher levels. Obviously, upgraded units will be faster, have greater armor and firepower, and even be able to change into more powerful units along a branching chassis tree. And if you really need to practice before going beyond the confines of your faction's capital, there are a number of newbie/training/simulation areas available.
One of the most unique aspects of this game are its RPG elements. Though several other RTS games allow your units to raise levels, much of Shattered Galaxy revolves around this aspect. The experience points breakdown like this: your units get experience points determined by their performance in battle, and when they raise levels you get experience for whichever unit classes they belong to (Infantry, Mobile, Aviation, and Organic), and for each level a class raises, your character gets points which he/she can attribute to each of four stats.
These four stats, called Tactics, Education, Clout, and Mechanical Aptitude will determine how many units you can take into battle at a time (6 plus 1 more for every 20 points), how advanced your units can be, political connections and chassis quality, and weight limits for each of your units, respectively. These stats increase slow enough as to give the game plenty of replay value and max out at 120 points each.
Now on to the actual combat. Hitting F7 will bring up a map of the entire planet you're on, detailing which provinces each faction holds and where battles are currently taking place. Just like in real life, you'll have to walk to battles that are occurring in provinces far away. A colored bar marking your path will notify you how far you are from reaching the chosen battlefield. Each one can accomodate 30 players (15 on each side), each of which can have anywhere from 6-12 units. There is no base-building (or mining, as I pointed out earlier), this is PURE combat. And though all sides have access to the same units, eliminating the need for balancing races, there are two things in Shattered Galaxy that make the combat golden. One is unit variety. There are over 50 unique unit frames and literally tons of combinations available for use on the battlefield. The other is teamwork. Considering you'll be working with up to 14 of your faction-mates in a fight, you'll all have to work together to win. There are no simple rush tactics, this is all out war. If there's something that Shattered Galaxy is good at, it's making you feel like you're part of something bigger and if you pull off some nice tactics, you could be considered a hero.
The object of each battle is simple enough. There are a number of Points of Contention (PoCs) on each map, usually ranging from three to five, which, if you're the attacker, you need to capture, and if you're defending, you need to protect. To capture a PoC, you simply need to move a ground-based unit over one and hold the position for 30 seconds while it lights up and it displays your faction symbol. For the attackers, all must be captured to win, and for the defenders, the opposition must be totally obliterated or they have to maintain at least half the PoCs for the duration of the 20 minute time limit each conflict is set to. Throughout the battle, you will be notified of incoming reinforcements and occassional pauses in order to synchronize incoming players with everyone else (though these last no longer than 15 seconds and you can do everything but move and attack during this time). Should your squad of units be destroyed during the battle, you may choose another set to deploy, but must wait a set amount of time before you can re-enter the fray.
There's even more to Shattered Galaxy beyond the unit customization and combat, though. There's also a government system that doesn't need to be explained right now because it's quite complex. Needless to say, you can gain rankings within you faction and it's always a good idea to listen to your superiors. In addition, there are also in-game messaging systems and bulletin boards which you can peruse at any time, even while fighting.
Gameplay is a very big part of Shattered Galaxy's appeal, but what about the other aspects? Graphics are passable and non-intrusive. Like many Korean-developed games, they are a bit dated, but functional. If you've seen StarCraft's graphics, you've basically seen those of Shattered Galaxy's, though there is an enhanced, 3d depth-buffered visual effects system in place.
However, I did enjoy the sound. Gunfire, explosions, and other sound effects feel strong. Most units have their own quotes, as well, though you won't find anything as silly as those in StarCraft. The music is done very well and always gets me pumped up for battle.
As always, performance is another major issue. Controls are similar to any other RTS and the interface is robust, but simple enough to figure out where everything is at the same time. Lag is nearly non-existant and the game launched without an immediate patch. Though there has been one since Shattered Galaxy was realeased, it was primarily for *adding* things to the game and secondarily for fixing very minor bugs. It's also great for low-end systems due to its minimum system requirements:
Pentium II 233Mhz/AMD-K6 400Mhz processor 64 MB RAM 28K Modem 2MB Video RAM, 16-bit color 250 MB free hard disk space 4x CD-ROM DirectX and compatible sound card
Once again, I must comment on how well Shattered Galaxy makes you feel like you're actually part of a war. The battles are massive, always fun, and the map is always changing. You could begin a battle with a strong land holding and afterward you may find that your faction has lost half of it. The commraderie, exciting combat, and RPG elements make Shattered Galaxy an incredibly unique and addictive game, able to take parts from other strategy titles and turn them into something that feels completely fresh. It's an ecclectic mix which has something for turn-based and real-time stragtegy, as well as role-playing, games alike. Cheapskates be warned: Like most massively multiplayer online games, after the first free month, you're going to have to pay a subscription fee of $9.95 a month or an annual fee of $59.95, but it's all very well worth it.
