The Wreckless Review – I’m A Firin’ Mah Lazer!
Salivate, dear friends – Duct Tape Games may have produced a worthy prodigy for Tie Fighter; just 17 years after the master of space combat was released.
The Wreckless, a truly enjoyable laser-beam firing, bomb-splooging dogfighter of a game; is Duct Tape’s first foray into the indie game universe. The three man team, all graduates of Swinburne University’s game design degree, endeavoured to create a space combat game ‘reminiscent of the old school’ yet inexpensive, and utilising modern controls. So, how far have they succeeded?
There is a whole galaxy of superlatives which could be dedicated to the sheer fun that is dogfighting in The Wreckless. Soon after beginning the game and being given your bearings in the familiar WASD format, you learn that you are a pilot who has been given the F-95 fighter drone – the first ship of many. Your task is to protect The Wreckless, your dock and mothership, from any enemies that dare oppose you in the Universe.
You are quickly let loose with your pew pew laser cannons on other drones in a training mission, although the fighting here is exactly like the real fights – the first instance of many where the story doesn’t make much sense. The visuals are not exactly stunning, but they are endearing and pretty to look at – hyperspace, with all its greens and oranges, is particularly beautiful. The ships themselves are aptly represented, and you are sure to not feel lost in what is a very crowded arena of space. Fortunately, as things do tend to get quite hectic, the controls are simplistic and make perfect sense, even to newcomers; it’s easy to ensure that the ships movements are consistent. You can brake and also boost your engines to propel you in a certain direction. It is possible to slow down almost to a stop before boosting yourself directly behind the space-scum who was just chasing you, before shouting ‘I have you now, young Skywalker, I have you now’ and then cackling indiscriminately at your fallen enemy.
Despite tweaks and irregularities in some of the missions, such as overseeing a space drug-deal (then promptly gunning enemies down with lasers) – or going into an Asteroid field (then promptly gunning enemies down with lasers), most of the missions require some form of bombing or fighting. Luckily, the game sticks to its strengths. The temptation to create a sizzling tale, crammed with dialogue, soliloquies and drama have let down some fighters, (cough, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, cough) but it is a temptation that The Wreckless has avoided – we all love a juicy space story, but when studios exploit the strength of a game and undermine the weaknesses, it is more enjoyable for all. There does, unfortunately, need to be a few words about the voice-acting in The Wreckless. Simply put, it is very poor and sounds like it was produced by a muffled £5 microphone in someone’s living room, which may not be so far from the truth. It most certainly detracts from the credibility of the story. This is a shame because it does let down what is otherwise an extremely professional creation. However unless you buy games for the voice acting alone, I implore you not to let this deter you from spending $9.99 on a very good game.
With that said, even the dogfighting is not flawless. Yes, it is extremely fun and often challenging, but the purple boxes do get annoying. What purple boxes, you ask? Well, as any good physics teacher will tell you, when things are moving at huge speeds and you are trying to shoot them with lasers (Physics 101), you must shoot where they are going to be, not where they are. Well, The Wreckless helps you out with this by positioning a purple box where you should shoot in order to hit the target – useful. Once learned, this is a very helpful feature, and does add to the game, making you more like the Vader-esque pilot you aspire to be. However there comes a point when you think ‘Hang on, I’m just firing at a purple box the whole time, and not the enemy.’
As has already been alluded to, the 16 mission storyline is hardly a stellar narrative – but if even this is too much structure for you, then there is the fantastic ‘Simulation mode.’ Easily the defining feature of The Wreckless, the simulator mode allows you to create the circumstances for your perfect battle. Configure the amount of ships you want – how many bombers, how many fighters and so on – and you are away, thrust into a hyperspace for your individual struggle of good vs evil. This is where most of the good stories in The Wreckless will come, assuming that players are willing to manufacture their own fate. The simulator is a great place to explore the capabilities of ships you unlock at the ‘Research centre.’ Another interesting innovation, the research centre allows you to spend points (gained by completing missions) on new ships. There are a host of possibilities, mixing in the bomber/fighter/freighter combinations which are apparent in the game.
Flight simulators, and in particular ones set in space have a tendency (cough, Eve Online, cough) to be overly complicated, confusing and monotonous – which is fine if you want to play a space-simulator in your lunch hour at your job as a Particle Physicist, or perhaps in your evenings off from controlling the movements of the Voyager at NASA; but for us average Joes who just want to laser down the bad guys, opportunities are annoyingly scarce. For the most part, however, The Wreckless is one of those opportunities – it is easy to control, simplistically innovative, and possibly the most enjoyable intergalactic laser-fight you will have this Christmas.
More information on The Wreckless and its developers can be found over at the official website. The Wreckless can be purchased for Mac or PC at the official store.
Review summary Pros:
Space combat with lasers, excellent controls, customisable ships
Cons:
Poor voice acting, confusing interface
Rating: 73%
