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Well Worth the Budget Expense

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 32 / 35
Date: March 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Space Sim fans take heart. There is a new entry well worth your time and expense. Nexus TJI is a great play. As a vet space simmer dating back to WCI, I highly recommend this outing. Not quite Homeworld I but certainly better than HW 2. Intense graphics, captivating storyline and awesome capital ship battles. That's right, it's all capitals here (no frenzied fighter action) but very satisfying nonetheless. Battles move slower and are more strategic. Voice acting is very good (background music could have been better ala HW I). Overall, I would highly recommend you take on this space adventure and enjoy the BIG ship/fleet combat and supurb graphics.

Fantastic!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 59 / 59
Date: March 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Nexus:TJI combines the very best aspects of role playing, RTS, and strategy gaming into a uniquely wonderful gaming experience.

Probably the best way to describe Nexus:TJI is 'Babylon 5' meets computer gaming. A mix of Homeworld and Star Fleet Command is another apt analogy. You command anywhere from a single vessel to a sizable fleet in an amazing amalgamation of RTS and tactical gaming. The gameplay, cinematics, and world are similar to the look and feel of `Babylon 5' including the Newtonian-based space combat. Yet it also combines the best aspects of space combat in `Battlestar Galactica' (the new series), `Star Wars', and `Star Trek'. Anyone with an interest in space combat will be very pleased with this game.

The graphics in the game are outstanding. The ship models are very well done but the 'space terrain' you fight in is even better. Asteroids, planets, sun flares and more are marvelously rendered with great lighting and shading. Sound is also well done. The story is solid and interesting and offers more depth if you care to read the diary entries and character bios. Voice acting throughout ranges from good to excellent.

Gameplay starts with bits of the story and a mission briefing. You are then left at the Starmap to outfit your ships, check on crew, read diary entries (more story plot), and generally get yourself ready for action. As an indicator of the overall quality of the game this section is almost a great game in its own right. The Starmap lets you literally explore the Universe like an astronomer. You can browse around solar systems and look at planets and moons. The game begins in our own solar system so you'll have some familiar surroundings from which to start.

Once you leave the Starmap and start your mission the main game begins. The game plays out in real-time but you can pause the game to give orders at any moment. What is so unique is that the game blends three levels of detail into an amazing and seamless whole. At the highest level it is similar to a regular RTS game (without the resource gathering) where you can just command your units as you would in Homeworld. But there is also another deeper level where you can exert direct control of certain units and do things such as launch fighters, assign specific target points, dictate posture, etc. Yet there is a third level to the game where you can dig one step deeper and take very detailed control of certain units and assign energy distribution, repair systems, control detailed movement orders, and much more. Best of all is that you can play the game successfully at the level YOU enjoy most. On occasion you'll need to dig down (or with the larger battles back up) but mostly you can play at the level of detail and control you enjoy. These multiple levels really set the game apart from previous space combat games. You are not stuck at one level but can move up and down in detail as appropriate.

All of the various ship types (fighters, capital ships, alien ships) and actions (boarding actions, energy management, and more) you would expect (and want) in this type of game are present. The ability to pause the real-time action makes Nexus:TJI a great tactical combat game that rewards sound tactics and understanding of your units' strengths and weaknesses and not just an exercise in how fast you can click. The AI is quite good and certainly doesn't do anything overtly foolish. The game's first couple of missions ease you into play and provide tutorial tips along the way. This is almost enough to play the game but you'll be best served spending some time with the well done manual as you it details some wonderful features not discussed in the in-game tips.

The game interface is a study in elegance and efficiency. Most of it is immediately intuitive and the rest easily digested after a read through the manual. There is an incredible amount of information displayed in a clean, useful fashion that greatly adds to the enjoyment and atmosphere of the game. You can easily command your ships, see ship status, and information on enemy ships. Many of your actions can be assigned directly with the interface without the need to hunt around for particular ships in the 3D display.

So far the game has been very stable and runs just fine at high resolution with full effects.

If all of that wasn't enough Nexus: The Jupiter Incident also includes Mod Tools that lets you create not only new missions but whole new ships and solar systems! I have little doubt we will see many player-created missions available on the Web. This feature gives Nexus:TJI incredible play life. Considering the quality and depth of play I suspect we will see some of the best experiences come from Mod created missions. With luck the designers will produce not only expansions but mission and/or world packs as well.

If you have any interest in sci-fi combat games or the space action in movies/series such as `Babylon 5,' `Battlestar Galactica,' `Star Wars,' or `Star Trek' you simply can't miss this game!

The new king of Space RTS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had the chance to play with the American version of Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and the truth is, that this game redefines almost every aspect of the space RTS/simulation genre.

Mind blowing, foretimed graphics and stunning weapon effects. Voluptous adrenaline rush fills your body every time a plasma battery or a tacnuke rocket crashes into enemy starships, ripping the hull apart.

Stunning story with lots of twists, great presentation, perfect roundoff and acme.

As you become more and more experienced you can outfit all your ships with bigger, meaner and better battery, missile, torpedo, laser, etc. emplacements.

Absolutely awesome general effect!

You will love this game.

Great Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is an extremely good game.

Graphics-1000/10--The grpahics are just phenominal. its unlike anyhting i have ever seen. i make 3D and i dont know how ANYONE could make this. you can also watch your ships fly through the air which is extremely cool.

Sound-9/10--There could have been more game music, but besides for that I would have given it a 10/10.

Gameplay-7/10--Overall the gameplay is hard at first. After playing it a few times it gets easier, but its still hard

Overall-9/10--This is an extremely good game, but I suggest just playing around with it for an hour before trying to doing any real playing

Very good but nothing is ever perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: March 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I loved the way the game looked the way it felt (much more like the original Home world then Home world 2). The graphics are just excellent. Everything flows together very nicely which is good because I don't exactly have a card that can be considered top of the line anymore.
That is where the game starts to break down. I loved it but there are just things that annoyed me.
The plot is clique and has been done before all the elements that one would expect from such a situation have already been done before. Although admittedly the designers of this game did a better job of it then the designers of Freelancer did.
The voice acting is both badly done and obnoxious some classic lines are
"I guess you're not such a putz after all" and "Well sir I would love to fly into a minefield for you but it looks like the admiral has already taken care of that"

Another thing that got me was the A.I half the time your shields have been taken done before you realize that the enemy is even around. While the game is fun to play what is not fun is getting plastered 14 times in a row.

Overall-The game is meticulous in its attention to detail but at times it can be a little too meticulous. Do not pay the price for this wait a couple of months.

Cool, But only Half the Original Game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: April 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Nexis was originally done by digital reality and Mith games as imperium galactica 3. When publisher cdv dropped the project it was bought by hd and shipped half completed. The space battles were only supposed to be a layer in the game. But it looks like all the strategic elements have been removed and replaced with a extremely scripted battle campaign. in the original concept you were to have a galactic empire and design, create and fight huge fleets, have planets, space bases, and all the other details of ig2, along with being able to play as many different races. digital reality was fired before this was done and with only the shell for the scenarios completed the project was shelved when low and behold cdv sold it and renamed it nexus.

It looked extremely cool as a rts but with all that removed and replaced with boring space battles and a scriped layout you wana choke, its disappointing. their was only 25 scripted missions and then its over... with no way to choose the ships that you wish to use its frustrating... I would just go buy hw2. which has many more mods that add to the games life span.

Great space battles with gorgeous graphics? I'm there!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I love giant space battles! Babylon 5, the last four seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the new Battlestar Galactica series, and all the Star Wars movies were chock full of giant space cruisers and destroyers blowing the hell out of each other. This is one of the reasons I enjoyed playing the Homeworld series, and why I also had a blast playing Nexus: The Jupiter Incident.

The story itself plays out like an epic space opera which builds itself up with many twists and turns in its plot. You play as Marcus Cromwell, whose father disappeared after traveling through a wormhole found in our solar system. Without spoiling too much of the story, eventually you too will have to travel through that same wormhole and survive what lies beyond.

Graphically, the game looks phenomenal. You can tell the developers spent a lot of time in deciding on the look and feel of Nexus. Each race in the game has intricately designed ships with their own distinctive appearances and attributes. The background graphics are not just a simple "stars on black space" motif, but instead use vibrant colours, high-resolution textures and excellent lighting effects to ensure the game in no way looks "boring."

Nexus' gameplay centres around space battles between opposing ship fleets, and it is one that can be both very simple and incredibly hard at the same time. Some missions can be very easy to complete, while other missions (especially the later ones) can be excruciatingly hard. The control scheme takes a little time to get used to, but it will become second nature once you get used to it. Ship-to-ship combat is easily initiated by right-clicking on an enemy ship. Moreover, you can also target specific components onboard enemy vessels such as their engines, shields, or weapon generators, which allow you to plan your attacks strategically rather than just throwing everything you've got at the enemy.

In between missions you are also able to outfit your ships with new weapons, armor, and engines, and with this option you can outfit specific ships under your command to perform different roles. For example, one of your ships can be designed solely to take down an enemy vessel's shields, while another can be used to obliterate their hull. My main complaint with the gameplay of Nexus is that, unlike the Homeworld series, you cannot travel to any point on the map you wish, but only to the various "nav-points" on the map. Also, this game is not for anybody who is impatient. It can take some time for your ships to get to their destinations even with engine power maxed out, so prepare to sink a fair bit of time into this game. However, these are only minor complaints which detract little from the game itself.

Sound wise Nexus does a decent job as well. The game employs some subtle yet very moody music in the background. The sound effects of engines firing, torpedo impacts, and laser blasts are done well also. As for the voice acting, while many people thought the voice acting was bad, personally I thought it was pretty good. Now obviously the actors are not going to win any Oscars, but what they say and how they act is done well enough to convey how the characters feel and to advance the plot.

In the end, Nexus may not be as high profile as some of the games released this year, but do not let that fool you. Nexus is a highly enjoyable, rewarding experience and a great game particularly if you like strategy games. I would even go as far as to say it is one of the first sleeper hits of the year, so go out and give it a try.

My ratings are:
Graphics = 9/10
Sound = 8/10
Gameplay = 9/10
Overall = 8.5/10

Buggy Buggy Buggy

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm going to temporarily hate this game. First of all, let me say it looks amazing. The graphics hold up to any other game out there right now, which is why I love just sitting back and watching the battles take place. If you're into thinking of a strategy, plotting it out, and then hitting "go" and watching it all unfold, you'll think this game is terrific. I happen to like these types of games-they're a nice psychological break from being constantly chased and shot at in Half Life 2, or crawling around on the jungle floor in fear of trigens in FarCry. HOWEVER.......
The North American release of this game is extremely buggy once you get about two thirds of the way through the game. The patch that came out for this game is only intended for the European release; the North American version is already the patched version. Which makes me wonder if the patch itself is screwed up.
When going into the forums of this game's website, it seems that many people are having the same problem starting in the Mechanoid Invasion mission. When you destroy a certain ship, which the mission REQUIRES you to destroy, the game crashes to the desktop. It seems that for the people who don't experience this particular crash, it crashes shortly after in another mission. There is no way around these crashes. Restarting the computer does not help and all of the tricks people have suggested in the forums are useless. If you can get to the end of this game in its current unpatched state, you are lucky.
I am not going to even load this game up again until there is a patch. I refuse to change my strategies as far as which ships to destory or what tactics I use to destroy them just to avoid a crash. That is not the way a $40.00 game is supposed to operate. Shame on Mithis for releasing a game that is so buggy and unfinished. This is a rip off. I'm so angry right now that I'm seeing spots.

The best Space RTS game out there!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've played a lot of space RTS's in my time. HomeWorld 1 & 2, Orb, Heg. Legions of Iron etc. but this game is far superior and here's why.

1. Graphics are like everyone else says below, down right amazing! You'll feel your really there! Space that is.

2. Gameplay, can any one say there is no resource gathering here yah!

3. Interface is simple and for the most part user-friendly. I like.

4. Story is great even better than that of Star Wars!

5. Lastly, this is a great game. I know it is not perfect as some say but what game is except HL 2? This game is better than any other Space RTS on the market in the past or now.

I have not finnished the game but I am about half way through. I love it.

If you buy this game try downloading the Skrimisher Mod! You can choose your fleet and all of the weapons/equipment and even your starting location anywhere in the game's universe. Wheither near a green looking planet or blazing comet, it will take you there. You can download it from any major gaming site on the web. It's called "Nexus Skrimisher." In fact I like creating my own missions more than playing the actual game! It more fun that way!

Anyway, this is one great game! Try it and you'll see what I mean if your into this sort of genre. Trust an old Space RTS player.

Great game, Sierra outdid themselves from previous games.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Honestly, even being biased towards Sierra games, they seriously outdid themselves with this title, surpassing all their previous games. The gameplay is wonderful, (Well, once you kind of get past the annoying beginning phases - Which lack any sort of good commands, since it's sort of teaching you.) the graphics are splendid for such a large game, (Not the best per se, but by far not the worst!) and the sound overall is nicely done. Voice overs, music score. Lip synching is good in game, since that the actual mission briefings lack animation of character avatars.
Another nice perk of the game is actually being able to zoom out and view the whole galaxy and the solar systems you've visited. (I personally like the zooming effects they used)
The strategy, once you are able to actually control all aspects of your vessel, is wonderful. Granted, the AI decides to take better judgement and control most of the ships functions on it's own.. Which I find annoying, so I personally select which systems I want to use and which ones I don't manually. Ship placing and defense and offense strategies are frequent, from scouting missions to full on war, it needs to be used. Fighters are common for defense, as much as offense, (And they HAVE to be used, sometimes.) and are quite handy to have. Love them and keep them close.
Overall, since I do believe I've rambled enough;it's a great game to have if you like formations of different strategies, use of them on the spot and in the future, it never really fails to produce. A must have for strategy fans, sci-fi fans, and people that generally want a good time without a whole lot of fuss. (Not saying there isn't any fuss, 'cause there is. Just not a whole lot.)

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