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	Earth & Beyond
	Developer: WestWood Studios Publisher: EA Genre: Online RPG Players: 1-Bunches Similar To: N/A - Imagine an online Solar Winds & Privateer Rating: Teen Published: 11 :19 : 02 Reviewed By: Ryan Newman Overall: 7 = Good

Screenshots

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Intro
Leaving behind fairies and ogres for the competition to worry about, WestWood is taking to the stars in their latest online RPG, Earth & Beyond. After years in development and beta testing, this latest entry into the MMORPG foray is an interesting take on the genre, especially when you consider that the only other major players out there that are outside the fantasy realm have been World War II Online: Blitzkrieg and Anarchy Online. Polished and pristine, with far better service than the latter two, E&B still has a few kinks to work out before it can achieve its full potential.

Gameplay: 7.5/10
Earth & Beyond is sure to intrigue many players as it seems only natural that someone finally took the initiative and released a space-oriented online RPG. How many have fantasized about taking on the wonders of the universe in their own starship while zipping through Star Trek: Bridge Commander, or having the world engulf them, rather than having a god-like view in Solar Winds. Yes, E&B sets out to fulfill all those lofty dreams and more in an extremely polished effort that manages to deliver on most of its promises.

Even in the future there are different classes; it seems that no matter how advanced people become, there will always be a need to separate societies into groups. To that end, E&B features the standard stable of selectable classes: Enforcers and Tradesmen (Terrans); Warriors and Sentinels (Progen); and Defenders and Explorers (Jenquai). While they have similar traits, the differences for each culture - whether it be technological, spiritual, or cultural takes on life in general - are different enough so that even a similar role for two different races feels more like a unique experience, rather than just a new set of skins.

With a solid number of classes and a wide array of views, choosing a character to your liking won't be a problem - or so it would seem. Each class has specific abilities that will be utilized during the game, mainly for combat, and this can definitely hinder one's decision. Do you want to become a Terran Fighter and have the ability to hack into an enemy's system to turn off their shields? Or, maybe you want the ability to feign your ship's destruction. Other abilities range from enraging enemies to attack prematurely, folding space to warp out of dangerous situations, to using tractor beam to pull opponents closer in. These, along with the large arsenal of weapons - which range from beam, projectile, and missile-based components - are all factors in deciding who to pick. One class might have a strong military belief that seems like something fun to participate in, but you might really want to learn the hacking ability to mess with someone's ship. I guess it's a good thing, then, that multiple characters can be made.

Customizing is also handled well with each facet of a character and ship being alterable. Everything from weight, height, eye color to hairstyle is adjustable per RPG standards. Ships can be designed from various hull and wing choices, along with different colors and decorative patches. I also liked being able to name my ship, which proudly displays its name in blood red on the wing; matching colors is a must.

Starting off a character is easy enough. A computer guide will explain the absolute basics while a guild guide will go into more detail about your class's special abilities and their specialties. Along the way, players will be tutored by a host of colorful characters. Some will preach the ways of that race, others gossip on the latest news, and a few will even murmur about some darker issues like getting information to overthrow someone else, and so on. The developers did a good job of giving them varied personalities: I really didn't think I'd meet a man relentlessly practicing his vocal skills on a space station, nor did I plan on dealing with a short, stocky man obsessed with missile guidance.

Talking to these guides and brushing up on your merchant skills will take place on space stations. These are the social gathering centers of space, complete with a night club section to hang out in, although I rarely saw anyone doing so. These stations also serve as respawn points as players will be towed back to the station at which they docked or registered before they blew up. Early on, no penalties are given to those who tow back, but there will be some as the player gets higher up in their levels. Basically, these are the centers of a new region and are a necessity to visit. Since players can level up through three means -- exploration, combat, and trade - these centers serve as a means of leveling up the trade skill, and will benefit the other two earlier on as quests are given, and finding your way to one will unveil new areas, giving you exploration points. They are also a great means of giving personality to the game as advertisements are displayed in hangars and voices over a loudspeaker call out names and point out random information. Having the ability to choose responses and questions will also bring out their traits as some will get offended and end the conversation, although this is fairly simple as it only takes choosing the right - and most obvious - choice to get them happy, or at least content, once again.

There is also plenty to explore, both in space and on planet surfaces. Since exploration is an ability that levels up, it's encouraged. Some truly amazing sights await those who are seeking adventure, but they have to be careful, since there are some incredibly powerful enemies out in the farther reaches of space. Thanks to a clean and informative HUD, these enemies can be ignored as their combat kill and rank tells their difficulty. In the vastness of space, there lies plenty of opportunity: there are asteroids to prospect, space oddities and pirates to kill and loot, and quests to fulfill. Looting ships is a key element in Earth & Beyond as it is the major means of income and can also lead to items to use in manufacturing your own goods. Found on space stations, consoles are set up to identify an item, not only to tell what materials make up the object, but to make the object as well. Careful though, as plans are also needed and it isn't guaranteed to work, so identifying a precious item could lead to nothing as it is destroyed and no identification comes from it. Trading in the looted items also increases the trade ability, and will also lead to upgrading your ship's weapons, shield, reactor, and other devices. It's crucial to keep up the ship's maintenance as it's not too pleasing to realize that a few grand spent on the ship could've increased the warp speed enough to where it wouldn't have taken half the time to get back to the station.

To get this loot, you'll have to fight for it, and this leads to Earth & Beyond's more controversial issue: combat. Utilizing a Bridge Commander-style of one-click combat, players will use a very easy and convenient display menu to select either a weapon or special ability. Each weapon's range will be displayed as a circle within the icon, growing smaller as the distance to the enemy shortens, and eventually turning green to indicate that the weapon can be used. While buying better weapons and leveling up combat will lead to more power and better accuracy, a part of me yearned to take the reins for myself and do some Jump Gate hands-on action. Right clicking in the direction that an enemy flew towards to pursue them and bashing on the numerical keys just didn't give me that much satisfaction. Granted, the special abilities are incredibly cool and do lend some strategic elements to the fighting, but I also felt a bit helpless as I mashed away. So, while the varied weapons and abilities did make the combat somewhat exciting, it really isn't the kind that'll make sweat drip from your forehead. For those of you who don't mind this, the enemies aren't of the dogfighting sort and are actually well tailored to the combat style. It should also be noted that this review was written prior to the introduction of PVP (player versus player) combat.

With a handy mission log, keeping track of quests was never a problem. The structure in which the quests were given held up most of the time; there were a few instances when I was sent out on a mission that I wasn't even close to being prepared for and some races are slower to get their abilities, so earning cash to upgrade their ships will be a longer and more arduous process. Leveling up also presented some difficulties as I often had a good number of points stored up, and hadn't leveled up enough in one section, which range from reactor, shields, beams, abilities, device usage, and so on, to use my skill points. This did cause some sections of the game to drag on for a bit.

The group aspect was also a bit shaky whenever I played. While many people were offering guides to join, just as many were slamming them and going on and on about 'noobs' (note to all game developers: whoever filters out that word will be my hero.) Even though the game encourages the player to seek out wingmen, I ended up going on most tasks alone, and that wasn't really a problem. I enjoyed the solitude of being a lone pilot in space a la Wing Commander: Privateer, ready to take on whatever was in front of me. To give credit to the players, some did hold voyages for newer players so they could group up and share the experience, and to learn the ropes.

In all, Earth & Beyond was a fairly enjoyable experience. While there were attempts to introduce storylines to make the world seem alive, they didn't appear to be as imperative as those in Asheron's Call. The developers did have a market day that gave incentives to go to certain markets, which was pretty cool. The stalled leveling up and combat really didn't hit home for me though; although the game was designed for both, and they work well, they just weren't my cup of tea. However, the special abilities, huge areas to explore, planets to visit, and space anomalies really made it fun to visit the E&B world and to get lost in a few hours in far-off galaxies. It's a definite change of pace and a solid step in the right direction.

Graphics: 9/10
Eye candy out the wazoo -- that's pretty much the best way to describe E&B. In space, planets look absolutely gorgeous and the different anomalies have to be seen to be believed. Even the lowliest creatures look fantastic, with some looking like neon jellyfish and others looking like floating brains. The space crafts also looked great with solid design variations and shiny paintjobs to give nice glossy finishes. The graphics are truly breathtaking. The only minor fault is that the character models are a bit rough and tend to repeat the same animations over and over during a conversation: imagine someone tossing their hands in the air, putting them on their hips, then pointing at your character and repeating the process until you end the conversation. Even these looked better than most online RPGs that focus on the character avatar all the time.

Sound: 8/10
Orchestra-style music that plays during slower periods gives way to silent beams and missiles slamming into enemies during combat. The music sounds great and should be more prominent, while the sound effects could use some work. The voice-overs are fantastic, for the most part. They seem to be random, with some people having vocals when they don't seem to need them while some important people have no speech at all, though they're still very well done. The loudspeakers in the stations and radio chatter when exiting are also excellent touches to help draw the player in the world.

Control: 7.5/10
Using either keys or mouse button, navigation is simple. An icon can be selected to go forward or backward until clicked off, or the ship can accelerate by holding down the key and mousepad, while actual movement is done by moving the mouse to the desired side of the screen. This can make turning in combat a tedious process, but it is an effective means of traveling. Long distances are handled well with a map that has various display toggles and the always-handy warp button. Combat, as stated, is one-click so that means you simply target the enemy, get them close to the center of the screen and click, or press, away. Again, it's not the method I would choose, refined or no. Talking and choosing responses are also simple with players having chat bubble icons over their ship when selected, plus there's also an easy-to-use chat menu at the top with several frequency settings (local, all, etc.) Earth & Beyond is pretty refined in the control department, with most things being handled by a few clicks of the mouse, with menus being shortened down to a few icons, along with clever usage of the keyboard.

Overall: 7/10
Earth & Beyond is a solid showing from WestWood, with a promising start and endless possibilities. Being continuously updated means that my qualms of combat and leveling may be without merit in a future update; as for now, combat is the main reason I would play a space title, and the limited control just wasn't for me, though again, this is a personal preference. In the end though, it's a highly polished title that intrigued the Magellan in me to the point where I played nightly for some time, just to explore some of what was out there. Imagination and wonder are both present and extremely powerful; here's hoping Earth & Beyond gets better with age.

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