In 1996, one of the finest vintage shareware games of all time was released. As a kid, I spent hours of my life, sneaking downstairs in the nighttime so I could play. I had never seen anything like it as a child, and I loved the feel of the game, the arcade style movement and the way the universe felt so alive. This was a game from before I even knew multiplayer games existed, outside of the arcade, of course. I found myself launched into a strange new universe in a small shuttlecraft, with only the most rudimentary shielding to protect me from pirates.
I was shot out into the middle of a galaxtic conflict between the tough and greedy confederation and the resolute rebellion. Two sides fighting for galactic supremacy whilst I and all the other poor traders were just struggling to get by. You could leave a planet to find yourself under attack by merciless pirates, or one of the factions you had managed to upset. It was an amazing experience to live as a kid and a great one to enjoy as an adult. Escape Velocity is an astounding game for it’s time, featuring great programming, enjoyable storylines that weren’t overwhelming, and fluid gameplay that even shines years later.
When you first begin playing, you’ll need to take some time, flying basic missions and trading resources from planets with an overabundance to ones that are comparatively destitute in order to earn the credits you’ll need to survive and advance. There are various incredible ships to pick from, with the long-range and flexible scout ship being the most cost-effective in the earlygame. It has everything you need to survive, speed, agility, fuel, cargo space, and if you throw a few lasers on it you can go head to head with a clipper! You can’t go wrong with it because it has enough armaments to be a credible threat, enough cargo space to cover most missions, and the speed and agility to avoid conflict whenever feasible. Throw an afterburner on it and you’ll be invincible… If unwilling to fight.
Ships can readily be outfitted with whatever equipment is available, as long as you have the room on board to load it, the game will allow you almost any setup you might desire. Rather than focusing on combat prowess in the earlygame, fun though it is, I think that the best upgrades early on are to convert weapon space to cargo in order to maximise earnings via trade routes and missions and to add fuel tanks in order to enhance the distance you can travel, thereby speeding up growth, and ultimately getting you into a great ship faster.
Whilst I would not recommend it for the first timer, as the internal balancing does not lend itself well to the areas outside of trading, the Courier is one of my favourite ships in the game, not just because it’s a wonderful ship, but because it was the first one I bought and flew for the majority of the game the first time I played. If you’re a serious gamer, the courier isn’t worth the money, but if you want a challenge, it’s a great ship. You’re not going to go really wrong with it, as long as you’re not combat oriented. Still, if you are and you get one, you’re going to get the nailbiting adrenaline rush I got whenever you try and board a Clipper, and talking about these fantastic beauties…
If we forget about the Defender which is about as much use as a stringless piano, and folds easier than a wet napkin, the Clipper will be the first combat-ready ship at your disposal, with just enough firepower to pose a threat to the stronger trading ships like my personal favorite, the Argost. (You can probably tell that I’m a pirate at this point.) Once you’ve shot your way through a few ships, your combat rating will rise, allowing you to access the game’s primary mission chains.
You may either play for the Confederation, a group of jacked-up bureaucrats who wear the tried-and-true blue, or join the Rebellion as one of the cool kids like me, flying their edgy red ships and terrorizing known space. You’ll have access to a few amazing ships and technology regardless of which side you choose!
The Rebellion gets the triangular Manta, which I actually like as a ship. Sadly it’s useless by the point you’ll get it. Then you get the Rebel Destroyer, an upgraded Argosy, which kicks serious ass. I love the Argosy and you can easily win the game in one – the Rebel Destroyer just takes things a bit further. Then you have the Cruiser, a beautiful monster that can launch Manta fighters and do serious critical damage to everything. You don’t wanna pick a fight with one of these puppies unless you know what you’re doing!
The Confederation get the Patrol Ship and Gunboat, both decent, but vastly outpaced at the point you can get them. Gunboats can be captured early on and are horrifying to unleash on an unsuspecting freighter. Gunboats make great escorts for taking out bigger threats and aren’t hard to capture if you know what you’re doing. Then you get the Confederation Frigate, which is pretty evenly balanced with the Rebel Destroyer. They’re good ships and very scary if you upset them at an early level. The Confed Cruiser is a terrifying monster that’s about 1/2 as scary as the rebel one, and threatening as all hell.
We learn in the initial text crawl, a precursor to our adventure, that there were once a species of aliens who fought humanity but were driven back into the darkness of space. In the late game, they’re returned, and this time they’re much nastier than before, and it’s up to you to help eliminate them in order to keep humanity safe… The Alien Fighters are almost impossible to kill, an absolute nightmare, and I love them to bits. Horrible evil looking things, they shoot around the screen using weird alien weapons to do insidious damage. Then you have the alien mother ship, which has a bunch of them at it’s disposal, and on top of that some horrifying weaponry that does immense damage. They’re not unkillable, but they are definitely a threat.
With a beautiful set of explosions, you stand alone, heroic, possibly with your few remaining escorts beside you. Once the cosmos has been saved and you have assumed the role of hero, you can then take on the role of villain by exacting tribute from the people you have just rescued. The universe has been saved and there are many bountiful planets that are just ripe for the pillaging. Being evil is fun. Destroy everything you come across and become a pirate god, hated by the people who you liberated from the evil alien menace.
Escape Velocity is a fun, easy-to-play game. You can play the game for hours without getting bored, and I’ve returned to it several times from the time I was a kid to recently when I did my review. I’ve found that the universe isn’t very forgiving, especially if you’re playing on hardcore mode. Just keep in mind the escape pod if you do!
Escape Velocity gets a nice 7.5/10 from me. It was one of the best games at the time, and it still is… Even 25 years later, I still love it to bits. Thank you Matt Burch, for creating something so worthwhile.
