The story begins with the testing of a prototype spaceship, and of course things go horribly wrong. After some flash and bang the players finds themselves on the other side of the galaxy being hailed by an unknown ship. The story from this point develops at a pretty slow rate. Since progression is dependant on the success of trades with alien species, the game can really crawl. The system the game operates on works on the basic laws of supply and demand. One station may have an abundance of one material, while another may lack that certain resource. Stations with the greater need in result yield more of a profit. With the rather simple economics out of the way, we move on to the physical transportation of the cargo.

The galaxy where business takes place is extremely vast. It takes a while to get from point A to point B, an idea which I will explain a little later on. Each ‘sector’ is full of different types of installations that carry out many functions for the surrounding area. These differences are what create the variable resource amounts on each station. For example trading oil at a space installation that collects oil will not get you much money. Each sector is connected to others with a system of jump gates that are very easy to use. Each new sector usually holds a new race, and a new set of supplies and demands for traders in the area.

Once the game progresses to a certain point a player can outfit their ship with guns and a stronger set of shields for protection against pirates. I am not exactly sure how long it takes, or how far a person must go in order to get some fights going, but I was not able to get one initiated. The handling of the prototype ship that the player pilots is really stiff, so its effectiveness in battle is in question. The prototype ship also moves very slow. I understand that outside of the Star Wars universe, trading is most likely a rather boring endeavor, but the time taken to at least move within scanning range of the nearest installation is insane. This is even when considering a person has their ‘afterburner’ kicked in.

Granted, once you make some actual money a person can buy engine upgrades make things easier, but the title can really give a sensation of boredom way too early in the game. The ship even lacks weapons, which also cost a lot. The first hours of the game consist of literally wandering from installation to installation hoping they need whatever was bought with the 100 credits given at the beginning of the game. No fighting, no excitement, just waiting, and hoping. The act of trading in this game is somewhat like the lottery. The constant thought ‘maybe the next space installation’ constantly keeps pressing the player on.

Visually X – Beyond the Frontier delivers where it counts. The ship models are eye pleasing but the cockpit environment of the prototype ship is rather basic looking. The stars cape backgrounds also could have used a little more attention; a person can actually see the seams between the different segments of the background and some areas don’t even match.

While I may harp on the pace of the game, South Peak has done a fantastic job with the atmosphere of the title. The act of docking, scanning ships, communicating with ships, asking for permission to land, being alone, and of course vulnerable really adds something special to this title. It is this sense of atmosphere that makes this title one that restricts itself to a certain type of PC gamer. X – Beyond will not be universally accepted, not even by all the space sim fans, but it will be accepted by the ‘hardcore’ space sim gamers. The type of people that braved the task of achieving a tight turn at top speed in Infogrames sleeper hit Independence War. This title does not appeal to the common entertainment values that the PC gaming community currently holds, but it has taken a stand as a realistic space-trading simulation, and it is for that reason it will not be without an audience. In my recommendation X – Beyond is something you need to try before you buy, even if you think you might like it.