Where to start with Event Horizon: Space Defense? I have played for quite some time and still cannot decide if I like the game of not.
It is neither very good, not is it bad. I have had equal parts enjoyment and frustration throughout my play sessions. So it isn’t easy to say one way or the other.
So let’s give it a go shall we! First of all what is Event Horizon: Space Defense? Does it have anything at all to do with the movie? Sort of, but who knows? It is set within the Event Horizon universe. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. But let me put that down to my own ignorance.
What you have here is a base builder mixed with a space shooter that does an decent enough job of mixing together its ideas to produce a competent enough title.
Presentation wise everything works and is simple to understand. You build up your space station’s defences, hire mercenaries, build you fleet, upgrade your ships, upgrade weapons, build furter upon that, rinse and repeat. All whilst entering into various battles against other factions.
It is like the developers looked at a tick box of what works and made sure each and every part was competently put together. The presentation of everything is just fine, nothing more, nothing less.
Some minor annoyances do exist though. It can be difficult initially to work out who is on your side and who is the enemy. I found myself shooting anything that moved, for instance. Just so I could be sure I wasn’t letting the enemy escape my clutches.
There is also the fact the action looks tiny on the screen. This hinders the ability to make out what is friend and what is foe. It’s not game breaking though as it seems the developers don’t punish you for hitting friendly ships.
It is another example of Event Horizon: Space Defense being a game that is right down the middle. Not excelling at one thing, but not getting anything drastically wrong.
Deciding what to upgrade and when, does have an effect on the game. Once you earned credits, collected resources and the likes, you can use these to upgrade and spend in a magnitude of ways.
The more you understand this, the better the experience for sure. However, at no point did it feel like I couldn’t get away with throwing things and things and seeing what worked.
Once again another example of it working straight down the middle. Everything is modular, so if you mess up, you can try other combinations and see what sticks.
The game is fairly linear too, with a basic progression through the map, but also allowing for a good amount of exploration. It feels like something you should be doing, but never punishes you for not doing so.
Graphically everything is decent, but not really eye catching. Well, save for the odd Space Invaders tutorial enemies that feel very out of place, but give you something clear to target as you learn the controls.
Which brings me onto those controls. At first they are very furstrating, with you never feeling like you are in control of your vessel. Yet after a while (perhaps too long) you get used to the weighty feeling of the ships and even start to appreciate it.
I really do not know if I can recommend Event Horizon: Space Defense, but it only comes in a little over £6 (UK). For that price you should get some value from it. Maybe it is one worth taking a chance on with some spare credit, just not one to rush out and get!
