M.Indie Goes Back To The Dreamcast!? by Game Tunnel

M.Indie by Joseph Lieberman

M.Indie Goes Back To The Dreamcast!? (July 4, 2006)

The Dreamcast�€� remember that thing? Sega made it. It was, in a nutshell, way ahead of its time in too many categories. However, a little known item was a game called Armada. Armada was supposed to be one of the great achievements of the Dreamcast. It was supposed to be a real time live action space based MMO with infinite (yes, you read that right) space to explore. Unfortunately the technical limitations of the internet servers and systems of the time simply couldn�€™t handle creating an MMO like that, and so Armada was released as a single player only game. It was a GREAT single player game for us space combat fans, one of the best DC titles to ever be released (I rank it about equal with Crazy Taxi and Skies of Arcadia).

So what the hell does this have to do with multiplayer indie games? Well, I have good news! Presenting: Armada Online (www.armadaonline.com). Oh yes, it�€™s back�€� and it is good. Armada is now in open alpha and freely available for anyone to see. They�€™ve made a lot of changes from the original, but the heart, soul, and story are still there.

The biggest change was they moved from an all-action thumb-twitching and heart pounding shoot-em-up to a more relaxed point and click auto-aim system. It isn�€™t quite as dull as it sounds, you can still maneuver and dodge actually, and a good pilot can survive a fire-fight a lot longer. The next biggest is the planned RPG system, which is much more extensive than even the Dreamcast MMO version had planned.

The RPG mode isn�€™t yet available, though I was told it is coming soon. In theory it features a branching upgrade system, where players begin with one of eight ships and as they upgrade their ship more and more new ships become available. 60 per side was the last I heard, making a total of 120 different ships to pilot. There are also skills, special abilities, and special items that will influence the power of your ship. I�€™ve also heard there will be ways to construct bases, though with the relentless attacks by the Armada it sounds like these bases will be temporary spots of refuge rather than standing fortresses.

What is available is a single scenario battle. These scenario battles have objectives to achieve and require teamwork, but each scenario has literally dozens of NPCs flying around fighting along with you. This means even if you are alone it can feel like an epic struggle against powerful enemies. They are planning to have multiple scenarios as well as many different RPG zones to explore, with each RPG zone following that �€˜infinite�€™ space idea.

For the record I tested the Dreamcast infinite space thing. It was true. After two hours of flying in one direction I was really, really, far away from home. However, it was pretty much dull as dust, seeing as there wasn�€™t anything out there but stars, nebula, and the occasional very nasty enemy ship (the further away from home the stronger the enemies got).

I have high hopes for Armada Online, possibly because I loved the original so much. I strongly recommend taking a look at the alpha to decide if it is something you want to keep an eye on. Again: www.armadaonline.com

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By: Russell Carroll
Posted: Tuesday July 04, 2006