Nexus: The Jupiter Incident

With its stellar graphics, space game in a higher orbit
By DWIGHT N. ODELIUS For The Chronicle

Once in a while, a really good game falls under the radar, overshadowed by the heavy hitters with big advertising budgets. But fans of space-based strategy games won't want to miss Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Its tactical depth and top-notch graphics make it one of the better science fiction games. Players take on the role of a celebrated spaceship captain and war hero whose father disappeared while trying to travel through an interstellar wormhole. The basic game play involves commanding one or more spaceships against enemies in a variety of battle scenarios. The ships are huge, slow-moving things and have more in common with the battlestar Galactica than with the starship Enterprise. The game design emphasizes strategy over simulation, freeing the player from the burden of learning a bunch of complicated ship controls. A brief on-the-job tutorial shows players how to issue specific commands to the ship and fleet, while the computer decides exactly how to carry them out. This gives the sense of being in command of a fleet, rather than micromanaging it, and allows a focus on high-level strategy without being distracted by inconsequential details. At first, the space battles play out slowly, and much of the time in the early missions is spent just getting into firing range of enemy vessels. As faster and better ships are introduced, and as battles get larger, the pace of the game quickens dramatically. In addition to a huge variety of weaponry and other equipment, each ship may also have a complement of fighters or a squad of commandos that can be directed to perform specific tasks like engaging other fighters or boarding a disabled vessel. Easy-to-use controls allow players to switch views from ship-to-ship and rotate their view of the action around any way they choose. HoustonChronicle.com - At Home