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'Whhhoooo-aaaahhh!' I screamed as I thrust forwards, turned my ship and blasted the rebel cruiser along its length while continuing to drift forwards at 100 metres per second.

 If Newton had designed a space simulation game, Independence War would be it.

 Its signature feature of Independence War is the modelling of spaceship inertia.

 Unlike an aircraft, Independence War cruisers let you fly in a direction different from the way you are facing.

 Accelerating and decelerating also take time.

 With this level of physics modelling, you can see this game is well grounded in hard science.

 Independence War - Deluxe Edition is a re-packaged version of last year's Independence War, but with minor improvements and addition of a new rebel campaign that presents the war from a rebel viewpoint.

 It is based on a period when mankind has colonised the galaxy and has begun to squabble for resources (some things never change).

 Squabbles lead to wars and there are two sides: the Commonwealth (the government) and the Indies (short for Independent Colonies) who are the rebel forces wishing to gain independence.

 You are not the captain of a nimble fighter, but of a space-based Commonwealth cruiser with a crew of about 45. You can control up to four stations in your ship: navigation, weapons, engineering and communications.

 The stations have well-designed layouts that present critical information clearly.

 The detail in this game is incredible and adds realistic charm. I liked how hyperspace jump points are called LaGrange points after the discoverer, and the background radio chatter on the bridge.

 I hated the look of the ship designs at first, but after reading about how the ships are powered by a super collider ring that runs around the hull, I began to see the depth of the design detail.

 Missions have substance, build up to create a fulfilling story, and are not just random sorties where you fly around and shoot everything.

 Your choice of mission leads to story-line branches, letting you choose your fate in the game. Some missions are interspersed with 3D cut-scenes that are movie-like in quality.

 The manual's explanations are above average and are required reading. After all, a cruiser is not the kind of ship that you can just walk on to the bridge and fly.

 Independence War is a tough game. I am a veteran of the Wing Commander and X-Wing series and yet I had problems completing the training missions.

 The subsequent combat missions were not any easier.

 A lot of your time will be spent learning to fly a space ship powered by inertial modelling.

 I found I often overshot my destination, but once you get used to the inertia concept, you will wonder why more space simulators are not modelled the same way.

 However, more impatient players may understand completely why simulators do not do this.

 In the dark cold of space it is often difficult to tell what direction a ship is heading.

 Your cruiser's on-board computer solves this neatly by drawing a long vector trail behind ships to give you an indication of their flight path.

 This looked strange at first, but I quickly began to love the utility of the trails.

 One big caveat is that this game supports only Voodoo-based 3D cards. Anything else and you have to use software rendering (playable, but not beautiful).

 I love this game. I have not started the rebel campaign yet, but the lead-up is exciting.

 If you own Independence War, I would give this game a miss, since the new features and campaign are not worth the upgrade.

 If you are interested in tough, gritty, realistic space simulations, however, fly Independence War.

 It is one of the best space simulation games ever, and rates two thumbs up.

Feedback? e-mail: bigdogatgamespot mail.com 



Updated Independence War gets thumbs-up