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One of the worst games ever, hands down.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 57 / 92
Date: December 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have played alot of awful games. However, I have only very rarely paid $40 for them.

This is one of the worst games I have ever played, hands down. I played the previous game in this series "X2: The Threat" and I can tell you this game is pretty much the same thing, only not fun to play at all.

X2 was SO much better. You started the game with a better idea of what is going on, the controls were better (which is saying quite alot considering the controls in X2 were just plain bad) and you could atleast change your name, even if the computer players in the game still called you Julian.

With "X3: Reunion" none of that is true. It has all the faults of the previous game in the series such as a terrible mission system and dull tedious gameplay focoused on making money by flying from space station to space station with cargo for hours on end. But on top of that all that has changed is the graphics and the interface/controls.

The Grpahics are awful. I've read so many reviews of this game which claimed they were great, but they aren't. Sure they look pretty when you see screen shots of space ships, but once the graphics are actually in motion they are terrible. I have a system which easly meets the requirements of the "reccomended system" but I still see lag and random choppiness whenever I fly past another ship or station. There are no options to tune the graphics up or down either so fixing the problem is impossible. Worst of all is you constantly have the "flying stars" effect shooting past your ship everywhere you go and I found this to be a major distraction, not to mention that it doesn't make any sense in this game. This isn't Star Trek and we aren't at warp speed, Scotty.

Even worse than the grpahics problem is the interface problem. The controls and interface in X2 weren't very good, and were in fact quite a problem if you don't own a joystick. But somehow the contols and interface in X3 is even worse. You can now use the mouse to control the in-game menus, which is something X2 was lacking, but this option is not turned on by default. When I first started the game it took me 5 minutes of flying in circles and cusssing before I figured out how to even navigate the menus. It took and another 15 minutes after that to figure out how to fly again. A vetran of the previous game in the series should not have this much trouble learning the controls of a new game!

And before you ask, there is no tutorial either, so you WILL have to blunder blindly through the controls before you figure them out, just like I did.

I could forgive the faulty graphics and the steep learning curve if there was some reedeming and/or new gameplay behind this mind bending system, but there isn't. The gameplay is exactly like X2. They didn't even fix the combat system which was the biggest complaint of fans of the previous games. The best tactic is still to shoot wildly and hope your computer opponents don't ram into you by accident (which they still do far too often). The biggest problem I wanted to see fixed was the mission system, but its EXACTLY the same. In X2 you had to fly to space stations and read "bulletin boards" to find missions. Every mission had requirements and usually requirements you didn't meet. Because each station had only one or two missions AT MOST, if you didn't meet one of them, you had to fly to another station and check there. Sometimes you had to check 10 or more stations before you found a mission you were willing and able to take. Then the mission would take 1/15 the amount of time you spent just to find it, pay almost nothing and you were back to searching for another mission again. I've VERY SAD to say this EXACT SAME MISSION SYSTEM IS BACK FOR X3. Right down to the very names and descriptions for the missions. THE EXACT SAME SYSTEM.

Playing this game is even more tedious then trying to level up in Everquest or something. I would almost rather fight 100 rats to get to level 2 and afford a rusty sword than have to dock at one more space station.

Also, there is no Multi-Player as far as I can see, so if thats a deal breaker for you then consider this deal broken. Further, even the single player options are lacking. There are three options for a "storyline" game (which amount to an easy, regular and hard modes) and then three options for playing the game with the story disabled. Reguardless of which option you choose, you are unable to choose your race or even your name and pretty much all the options are the same. The only real choice is what kind of ship(s) you want to start the game with. There is also a "Custom game" option but there is only one choice under that option and it just launched me into a regualr storyline game.

I'm outraged at Egosoft that they managed to release a game this bad. X2 was a fine game that just needed a few minor improvements to become a great game. But somehow Egosoft managed to take a game that was fine and make it worse by taking the good parts and screweing them up and still failing to fix any of the problems from the previous game.

Don't buy X3: The Reunion. For $40 there are SO many better games here on Amazon to spend your money on.

X3: Reunion Install Problem Fix

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This isn't exactly a review, but there is a workaround for installing the game for those who received a defective Disc 2 with missing files:

When you receive the error message for the 08105.mp3 or 08106.mp3 file, put in Disc 3 and click Retry, then click Ignore when the error message comes up again.

Download the missing files from Enlight here:

For file 08105.mp3
http://www.enlight.com/x3/08105.zip

For file 08106.mp3
http://www.enlight.com/x3/08106.zip

Extract then Drag and drop Or copy and paste the 1 or 2 mp3's to "C:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 REUNION\soundtrack" depending on which file you are having problems with.

(Workaround From Enlight support @ http://www.enlight.com/pq/product/view.php?id=455)

I thought X2 was a great game that steadily improved over time with patches from the developer. Time will tell for X3.

Ignore Pre-Patch reviews, this game is Awesome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: February 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is incredible!! The graphics are the best I have ever seen in a PC game (even at lower settings on my 128mb video card) and the gameplay is addicting (as an understatement). Be prepared for a steep learning curve, but after you spend a day or two with this game, you wont be able to put it down. It is the ultimate "sand-box", open ended space sim and I only hope they continue to make more games like it. Ignore the old pre-patch reviews and do the following:

1. Buy this game
2. Download the 1.3 patch (yes, its big)
3. Download the new manual
4. Be prepared for a new addiction

You can follow the 'missions' or pursue your own whims and build a trading empire (complete with your own custom built stations, etc), become a pirate hunter, become a pirate :), or do pretty much whatever you want while amassing a huge fortune and an armada of ships and stations.

Its bad when corporate execs force developers to ship a game before its complete, but this is definately one game I'll forgive them for. The 1.3 patch feels very complete, and the game is amazing. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone that enjoys a game that requires more than just "point and shoot" skills. Great sim, great gameplay, great game. I hope they make an X4, just a long time from now so I can get the most out of X3 :)

Get it right the first time!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Up until about a week ago, I agreed with all of the negative reviews of this game. Though I did not have installation problems, I did have lag times (even at the lowest settings) and the game was pretty near unplayable. After reading the forums on Egosoft's site, I realized that Egosoft released a game that was nowhere near ready to release. Of course, as you all know, once you buy and open a game you are stuck with it so I uninstalled it and chalked it up to being taken.

However, since that time, EgoSoft has released two more patches (1.3 and 1.3.01). These have made the game not only playable, but enjoyable! I was so excited to actually be able to play the game. The graphics are gorgeous as is the soundtrack. You really get the feeling that you are part of a large universe. The free roaming game is truly free roaming where you pretty much do whatever you want, but pay consequences/reap rewards of your actions. I'm not sure what some folks are expecting from the graphics department or the mission variety, but I have no complaints about them.

I am not going to get into the specifics of the game because if you're interested, you can learn about the game from egosoft's site, gamespot, or IGN. As far as fun goes, I give the game a 4-Star rating, because now that I can play it I'm hooked! Yes, the controls are pretty involved and the learning curve is indeed a bit steep, but I have had worse. I do agree that a game of this magnitude should have a better tutorial system. (Please note that I never concern myself with 'plot holes' in a story line in a game as long as I am having fun so I can't comment on that.)

The reason, the overall rating is 2-stars is because Egosoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing the game in the condition it was released. While they should be lauded for being upfront about the problems, fixing them, and offering a download of an updated manual, we should not have had to endure the pain of waiting two months for everything!

If you don't mind spending $40 on a game and then patching it as soon as you get home, then I highly recommend this game. If you are still interested, but are afraid to take the leap of faith you can get X2: The Threat for about $30. The graphics are not as stellar, but the gameplay is similar and the bugs have been worked out.

Starforce aside...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: May 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'm not even going to mention Starforce. It's been done and I can't think of anything new to say. For better or for worse, it looks as if it's here to stay.

First of all, X3 looks amazing, and sounds great. These factors help create a quite convincing space simulation. The only downside is that it requires a pretty powerful computer to play the game with all of the bells and whistles enabled.

I'm sure you've all heard about the steep learning curve in this game, and though the amount of things to learn and do can be daunting, the interface is streamlined by adding mouse functionality, so that you don't need to memorize a ton of keyboard commands: you can just point and click. You can also use the mouse to navigate your ship through the game's numerous star systems. However, to really enjoy the game and play it effectively, I strongly recommend a joystick to supplement the keyboard and mouse.

The plot of the main single-player campaign centers on the continuing incursions of the vicious Khaak into Argon space, and the emergence of a mysterious clan of pirates known as the Yaki, who are keen to steal some precious artifacts. With the Argon fleet down to 30% Julian Brennan is called into action once again to help solve an ancient mystery.

The single-player campaign story is absolutely dwarfed by the number of potential side-tasks you can perform. Start by trading commodities and taking odd jobs, then set up profitable trade routes. Later, you can build factories and begin selling the goods that they produce. Eventually, you can build up a formidable fleet to command, ranging from light fighters to carriers and battlecruisers. You can even take the helm of a battlecruiser and feel the awesome power of one of these vessels. Also, you can explore the game's nearly 100 star systems and see what mysteries and dangers the X-universe hides.

Once you get into the flow, this is a pretty enjoyable game. Some missions are very tough, and took me multiple tries to pass. Also, the game was quite buggy at launch, but several patches that have been issued subsequently have helped to smooth this out. My main gripe is that you can go long time without getting into combat, and sometimes when you do the odds are so overwhelming that you have no chance of victory. However, this is a minor complaint about a great-looking and ultimately satisfying sci-fi sim.

A game idea that deserved better execution.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Story:
There is apparently a plot in the game. I'm not sure exactly what it is. The only somewhat coherent explanation for what is happening in the story is found on the back of the game box. There is an alien race attacking your race's planets and it is up to you to do something about it. Your dad needs your help too. Cutscenes appear and talking heads narrate fluff pieces. Characters make unexplained choices and do things that don't make any sense. Then, the story ends and we know as much about what happened as we did at the beginning. I can't be bothered to write more about it since it seems like it was an afterthought.
Luckily for everyone, it is possible to play a non-plot game.

Game Play:
Random go-here-and-kill-this-guy, or bring-me-to-that-place missions, and some news article fluff are found on various space station bulletin boards. They are the core of what could be best described as the provided content in the game. These get repetitive after 2 or 3 days of play. A player that is not interested in the trading and economic portion of the game will find these missions are the best, if most tedious, way to make money.
The bulk of the play is sandbox-style. Players are left to develop their own goals and essentially develop their own way of playing. I enjoyed this aspect, but I would have appreciated more mission types and more intuitive ways of getting the missions. The existing process requires a player to dock at a station, cross their fingers, and hope that a post will appear on the bulletin board giving something fun to do.

Play Control:
The many ships able to be purchased by the player have various control characteristics such as maximum speeds and turning abilities. The small and fast ships are very agile. The battleships and trading vessels are not fast and turn very slowly. This makes for a realistic experience depending on what ship you are flying.
The weapons, shields, and other items have some variety but nothing spectacular.
The ship interface is necessary to control ships and to give them orders. This is also a requirement for players who wish to control more than one ship at once. Unfortunately for the player, this interface consists of a nightmare of unintuitive, cryptically labeled, and nested menus and sub-menus. Often, I feel like I'm programming my ship instead of flying it. All of this does very little to abstract the gameplay experience from the scripting engine that runs it.

Graphics and Sound:
Everything in this game is beautiful. I don't know if there is much else to say. X3: Reunion should be recognized as the prettiest space sim to date. This claim does not go to the cutscenes and other videos which contain only talking heads that appear freakishly zombie-like.
The voice sounds are somewhat lacking in the ship computer as they are pieced together by stuttering bits of words; and the voice sounds vary from 'somewhat depressed' to 'completely stoned'.
Most of the laser noises are better than average and produce a satisfying whoosh! or zap! when hitting the enemy.

Execution and Problems:
The overall feel of the game is less like a game and more like a game development environment. I see that there is a sizable community of script makers at Egosoft's forums. They are willing to make the game what it should have been.
With the inclusion of the built-in script editor, a person with some programming knowledge and the willingness to sift through the poorly written and disorganized documentation on the Egosoft website can build themselves a rich and fun game experience.

I'm not going to go into the many bugs that made the game unplayable in its released state. Needless to say, the game was probably at pre-beta quality when it was boxed and shipped. Patching is not optional, but required, to get the game to a playable state.
Shame on Egosoft for not being more responsive on their forums to the many, many cries of customers publically asking for progress reports on upcoming bugfixes.

Only fans will be able to enjoy it

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As someone who HAS been able to install the game, I can tell you that X3 improves on its predecessor in many ways. Unfortunately, stability is not one of them. X3 is indeed a very buggy game and the disc protection software has caused a good portion of players to have severe problems with their computer. This is the game's biggest drawback, as it is unlikely that such a problem will be fixed any time soon - if at all.

But for people who can look past this, they will find a game that is worthy of recognition. Should Egosoft manage to patch the game back to health in the following months, X3 will be far more enjoyable for the average gamer and not just diehard fans. As it stands, the game's flaws seriously overshadow its entertainment value.

X3 is a continuation of X2, with a slightly larger universe (with more sectors having been discovered and colonized by the major races), a new and better storyline, and remarkably improved visuals. The technology is impressive: celestial objects will bounce off the reflective surfaces of ships, clouds drift along the atmospheres of planets, and all the ships and stations are marvelously crafted.

No one who is unfamiliar with the X-universe games should buy this game, as the bugs and steep learning curve are almost guaranteed to ruin the experience. X2 would be a far better choice for interested gamers. Everyone else will have to make up their own mind.

Slow paced, but very addicting.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing this game for almost a month now, and i cant comment on the differences from X2 to X3 as i could never get X2 to run. I have read over other peoples comments on this game, and just about every negative point was either completly wrong, or has since been fixed. for example, just to nitpick, one person mentioned changing your players name in X3, sure you can, yeah everyone still calls you julian in the storyline and such. heck you can even change the name of any one of your ships, which is handy at later points in the game when you need to track 10, 20, 30, or more ships.

One true point to some peoples complaints, is the graphics in the game. they are absolutly beautiful, but at a high cost. in recent patches they have added more options for tweaking the graphics levels to help run on lower end machines. myself, i run it in med-high settings with a 6600gt gfx card. It looks great, sounds great, just great.

The storyline is a bit dry, but i dont feel that the storyline drives the game really. You have to kinda look at this game like a combo between a Sim City style game, a RPG, and a real time strategy. The space combat is not that much of a force in the game, you can of course choose to go this route to just fly around killing pirates or whatever all day. you may also choose to build a vast empire of trade ships, stations, complexes, and factories.

One of the interesting points to this game, is the scripts engine. there are scripts of all sorts, from cheats, to temp bug fixes, to tweaks of the current game. you can do quite a bit with the scripting engine if you have the ability to learn how to work it, or you can simply use the egosoft website to download other scripts for your use.

Myself, i rate this as one of my most favorite games for the last few years. For those people who enjoy a bit of a slower pace of things sometimes, this game could be for you. For those who like to jump in and go non stop action....go buy the latest first person shooter. I do enjoy both of those actually, and this game can really suck up my time.

Immersive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 16
Date: November 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

A space flight / fight / trading / empire building game. It is like later day version of 'Elite'.

You can command a fighter ship which embarks on missions and captures enemy ships where you progress through a storyline. You can also command a trader which trades the space lanes, eventually you can build factories and gigantic fleets of ships, dreadnoughts, carrier ships.

The whole world is dynamic and filled with traders, stations and computer players that react intelligently to anything that you do or happens.

It takes about 3 hours just to get used to the controls and how to fly around and do anything, the graphics are incredible and you will just fly around looknig at things everywhere. I almost gave up on this game early on as I couldn't seem to really do anything or work out the controls. It then takes another 4 hours to start to understand the dynamic economy as a trader. Once you understand the game it becomes completely immersive as there is just so much to it.

Replay value is huge. You can spend an unlimited amount of time playing this game and enjoying it. You need a good PC to run it though.

Here is a good description.
[...]

BEWARE BEFORE YOU BUY

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: April 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have had computers since 1983, I'm no novice... boughtthis horrible game for $40, cant even get it to play, like MANY others.... why? They use some odd copy protection "Starforce" scheme. After 20 emails back and forth to Russia,, almost every email containing time wasting "fixes" and demands for a complete list of EVERY file on my computer, and requests to install/test numerious programs, this thing still won't function. Nobody to get arefund from either, store wont refund, software company wont refund, "protection" scheme maker won't refund...

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