Game Reviews

Beyond Space

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Beyond Space
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| Beyond Space

Space is big. Really big. But the universe needs all that room in order to fit in the characters that wander the vacuum, including gruff space mercenaries, their snarky love interests, hostile aliens, space pirates, and corrupt planet federations.

All these life forms and several more occupy Beyond Space, a space-based dogfighting game from Bulkypix. It's not exactly on the same level as Nintendo's own Star Fox, but it still offers incredible visuals, plenty of action (with some regrettable downtime here and there), and a seemingly endless supply of groan-worthy one-liners.

Fly and shoot

Beyond Space stars Max Walker, a mercenary whose name probably corralled him into his profession before he was even old enough to use the toilet by himself.

Like most soldiers of fortune, Max is primarily concerned with where his next paycheck is coming from - and, like most soldiers of fortune in movies and games, he finds himself dragged into a plot that's much bigger than one man and his own concerns.

The majority of the gameplay in Beyond Space involves flying around and shooting at enemy ships. You have a number of fighters and shields at your disposal, plus a large arsenal of primary and secondary weapons.

There are a few non-flying portions to work through as well, and, unfortunately, these tend to make the game drag a bit. When I've had a taste of battle, I've no interest in being forced to race another deep-space hotshot, and I'm definitely not interested in doing a stealth bit.

These deviations from flying and shooting would work well as optional side-quests. Alas, you need to finish them before you can get back to wasting space pirates.

Slippery ship

The controls in Beyond Space are a wee bit problematic at times, though for the most part they perform well and are highly adjustable. Barrel rolls and U-turns are performed by sliding on arrow tracks situated on-screen, and sometimes you accidentally hit those tracks in the heat of a dogfight.

There's one department where Beyond Space can't be faulted, however: graphics. Beyond Space is unquestionably the best-looking space shooter currently on mobile. It's also an easy contender for one of the best-looking games on mobile, period.

Even if you're not normally hot on space operas and armadas, the planetary backdrops and nebulae sprayed across Beyond Space's backdrops will blow you away.

Make sure to open up your ears, too, because Beyond Space's graphics are coupled with a sweet soundtrack - and a bunch of wise-cracking space-faring chatterboxes. Yes, Beyond Space is riddled with bad jokes, puns, and clichés. If you're into that sort of thing, welcome home. If you'd rather fly in a vacuum, you can turn the voices off.

Beyond Space has a few dents and nicks in its hull, but it puts in a Jupiter-sized effort that pays off for the most part. The experience doesn't last too long, but what's there makes for a simple but enjoyable shooter.

Beyond Space

Beyond Space's gameplay doesn't quite hit the lofty level of its incredible graphics, but it's no slouch as a space shooter, either
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