Elite: Dangerous, PS4
A LEGEND RETURNS
The original Elite, released back in 1984, has obtained legendary status. Described by some as the first truly open-world game, Elite was genre defining and it is arguably one of the most influential videogames of all time. Since the third game in the series released in 1995, Elite has been absent for
some time, but, with Elite: Dangerous, the series has risen from the ashes to hit PC and it is now on its way to PS4.
TRADE OFF
Fitting for a game in which trading and commerce play key roles, Elite made its return as a result of a proposition made via Kickstarter ‘you fans give us your money and we’ll make the new Elite game that you want’. At the beginning of January 2013, it turned out that was a deal that fans were happy
to shake on, with Elite: Dangerous raking in £1,578,316 in funding after setting an ambitious £1,250,000 goal.
ROLE PLAYING
Part of the appeal of Elite and here, you’ll see similarities to games that have followed in the Elite series’ footsteps, such as No Man’s Sky and EVE Online is that you are able to be whoever you want as you explore the universe. You can be a trader, picking up resources then flying to a space station in another system to sell them, or, you could be a smuggler, a pirate, an assassin…you decide what your priorities are.
THERE’S LIFE OUT THERE
The biggest difference between Elite: Dangerous and its predecessors is that those games, what with being released before the internet and all, didn’t have online multiplayer. With Elite: Dangerous, there’s potential to team up or battle with other players that you come across. If multiplayer gaming has taught us anything, it’s that other players are going to be the most dangerous entity you will encounter.
STARS ARE THE LIMIT
Elite: Dangerous’ universe is huge, as it is comprised of 400 billion star systems. Its planets and moons have day/night cycles as a result of the fact that they orbit in real-time. Like No Man’s Sky, many of the game’s star systems are procedurally generated. However, around 150,000 of them have been constructed using real astronomical data. We think the prospect of visiting real-life star systems is pretty cool.
ON A MISSION
While exploring the stars and planets of Elite: Dangerous, you will come across bulletin boards that allow you to take on a variety of different missions and errands in order to earn yourself some of that sweet, sweet space cash.
Assassination and Bounty Hunting missions both send you after targets to take down. The difference is that where Assassination missions send you after specific NPCs, Bounty Hunting missions ask you to take down members of particular factions.
For something a bit less violent, you can take on Courier missions, which ask you to deliver a message to a specific station; you can also undertake Charity missions, which will see you out of pocket, but will provide a significant boost to your reputation.
Then there are the most fun sounding of all: Piracy missions. These require you to steal goods and return them to whoever made the request. You’ll obviously need to kit your ship out with the appropriate tech to help you find and steal the cargo in question.
The original Elite, released back in 1984, has obtained legendary status. Described by some as the first truly open-world game, Elite was genre defining and it is arguably one of the most influential videogames of all time. Since the third game in the series released in 1995, Elite has been absent for
some time, but, with Elite: Dangerous, the series has risen from the ashes to hit PC and it is now on its way to PS4.
TRADE OFF
Fitting for a game in which trading and commerce play key roles, Elite made its return as a result of a proposition made via Kickstarter ‘you fans give us your money and we’ll make the new Elite game that you want’. At the beginning of January 2013, it turned out that was a deal that fans were happy
to shake on, with Elite: Dangerous raking in £1,578,316 in funding after setting an ambitious £1,250,000 goal.
ROLE PLAYING
Part of the appeal of Elite and here, you’ll see similarities to games that have followed in the Elite series’ footsteps, such as No Man’s Sky and EVE Online is that you are able to be whoever you want as you explore the universe. You can be a trader, picking up resources then flying to a space station in another system to sell them, or, you could be a smuggler, a pirate, an assassin…you decide what your priorities are.
THERE’S LIFE OUT THERE
The biggest difference between Elite: Dangerous and its predecessors is that those games, what with being released before the internet and all, didn’t have online multiplayer. With Elite: Dangerous, there’s potential to team up or battle with other players that you come across. If multiplayer gaming has taught us anything, it’s that other players are going to be the most dangerous entity you will encounter.
STARS ARE THE LIMIT
Elite: Dangerous’ universe is huge, as it is comprised of 400 billion star systems. Its planets and moons have day/night cycles as a result of the fact that they orbit in real-time. Like No Man’s Sky, many of the game’s star systems are procedurally generated. However, around 150,000 of them have been constructed using real astronomical data. We think the prospect of visiting real-life star systems is pretty cool.
ON A MISSION
While exploring the stars and planets of Elite: Dangerous, you will come across bulletin boards that allow you to take on a variety of different missions and errands in order to earn yourself some of that sweet, sweet space cash.
Assassination and Bounty Hunting missions both send you after targets to take down. The difference is that where Assassination missions send you after specific NPCs, Bounty Hunting missions ask you to take down members of particular factions.
For something a bit less violent, you can take on Courier missions, which ask you to deliver a message to a specific station; you can also undertake Charity missions, which will see you out of pocket, but will provide a significant boost to your reputation.
Then there are the most fun sounding of all: Piracy missions. These require you to steal goods and return them to whoever made the request. You’ll obviously need to kit your ship out with the appropriate tech to help you find and steal the cargo in question.
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