Last Update: 7/22/07
UFO: Afterlight
UFO: Afterlight is the third in the UFO series from Altar Interactive. Set fifty years after the war on Earth, the people of Earth have been forced by the Reticulans to leave. Some of them were sent to the orbital station above the Earth, and their story is told in UFO: Aftershock. Another group were tranported to Mars, and this is their story. With 10,000 cryogenically sleeping people in their care, a group of about 30 talented humans have to carve out an existance on Mars. The terraformation of Mars as well as defending territory from alien invaders are all part of their mission. Not only do you have to manage the day to day operations at the base - such as research, production and construction - You also have to fight out battle in pausable real-time with many levels of intricacy such as the ability to make detailed plans for your soldiers. As the game progresses, new avenues of research opens up which in turn opens up new skillsets and weapons for your soldiers. You will get to know your personell intimately as they progress, and with a strong RPG-element you can mould them into a fighting force with diverse abilities.
This game contains many different types of gameplay which, as a whole, creates something that is a lot more than the sum of its parts.
This game contains many different types of gameplay which, as a whole, creates something that is a lot more than the sum of its parts.
Publisher: Cenega Publishing
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Bottom Line: It's not exactly x-com but it does a decent job. Gameplay: For those of you used with the After series, the gameplay in Afterlight has been improved slightly when it comes to both combat and tactical. For those of you used with X-Com (Ufo: defense, etc) well, it's almost an entirely different game. Now, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Afterlight is a realtime strategy game but not like C&C or Starcraft. The game basicaly takes place in two planes, combat and management. In one you manage your colony, colonists, soldiers, and land while in the other, you fight the many threats there are in Mars. Both are pretty decent and have enough freedom to keep anyone entertained for a while.
Graphics: The graphics here are decent to say the best, sometimes it seems like your soldiers and enemies are dolls, but the animations tend to fix that problem. The terrains are usually well made with several light spots and details while it's always fun to roll around the globe screen. Replay Value: Besides some maps becoming way too repetitive in a single game, you can replay this as much as you want. The start is always the same, but you can handle the factions in different ways. There are also 3 kinds of soldiers you can use, so you can try to develop one type more than the other, but it's always good to have some diversity because of the many skills they can learn. Reticulands have psi powers and weapons while robots can carry really heavy weapons and plenty of ammo. Fun Factor: The game is fun while it's new, but having to go into tactical mode over and over to fight people trying to take your territories get a bit too repetitive. Other than that and micromanaging your colonists, it's fun all the way. Final Notes: Make sure you download the 1.5 patch for this game. Most important, it fixes an annoying memory leak this game has. So get it here . Learning Curve: Takes a while
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