Once you have a feel for things, you can probably get through everything in a couple of hours without much fuss, but your first trip through could easily take several times that long, particularly if you refuse to take advantage of the option to lower the difficulty between levels. Affordable Space Adventures is by no means an easy game, but it's also not overly concerned with putting you through the wringer for no good purpose. If you clear a puzzle, you're seldom forced to do so repeatedly to try your hand again at an obstacle further down the line that is giving you fits. Checkpoints are placed at reasonable intervals, which is important given how easy it is to meet a premature end. Most stages aren't especially large, but there are plenty of them to traverse. In a vertical shaft, for instance, you might need to briefly kill your engine so you can drop past a drone that is alerted by sound, but then you want to bring your thrusters roaring back to life in time to avoid dropping across the path of a nasty laser beam. Later puzzles grow increasingly demanding, though, and you sometimes have to get more creative and take bigger risks. In the opening areas, changing from one engine type to another is often sufficient because you put out less electricity or noise. If you attract their attention, they'll swiftly take you out of action, which means you must make frequent adjustments to sneak by them undetected. Some of the visual design just plain rocks.Įarly stages lead you through verdant environments, but you soon head beneath the planet's surface to explore dangerous interior areas patrolled by sentries and floating pods. The various options are presented on the gamepad screen in a manner that feels like part of the experience rather than just a generic control scheme, and this setup is used in some interesting ways as the adventure unfolds. Eventually, you're able to switch between engines on the fly and activate boosts. You soon find yourself monitoring thruster levels, stability, and even gravity controls. That's basic enough, but your vessel improves over time as its features come back online. Using the gamepad, you control the Small Craft with the left analog stick while the right one aims a spotlight that can also scan for potential hazards or fire flares. The game's interface deserves much of the credit for that accomplishment. Truly intense moments are quite rare, but the experience is likely to stick with you for a long time because it doesn't feel like a hollow imitation of classic digital journeys you may have already taken. There's no thumping soundtrack, only ambient noises and the occasional bit of piano work that barely even registers. However, the emphasis here is on solving puzzles rather than explosions and high scores. It could easily be mistaken for a horizontal shooter like R-Type or Gradius, only with better graphics. The planet is beautiful, even when it's trying to kill you.Īt a glance, Affordable Space Adventures doesn't look particularly unique. You need to use every function your diminutive vessel possesses if you want to live to enjoy a bright tomorrow. Unfortunately, the surrounding environment isn't nearly as hospitable as the promotional videos led you to believe. The carrier ship you are supposed to ride home in crashes and leaves you stranded until you can find a functioning communication pod and send a distress signal. After three days, a ship picked them up, and they returned home to tell others of the grand adventures waiting at the edge of the universe.Īffordable Space Adventures is the story of one pilot-you-who is nearly done enjoying an excursion to that same distant planet. Upon arriving at their destination, private citizens piloted miniature ships known as Small Craft as they explored peaceful environments on the planet Spectaculon, taking in the alien sights and claiming territory for their own. In a different 1995, a company called Uexplore began offering cost-effective trips to a distant planet.
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