Earth and Beyond First Impressions
Sunday, May 12th, 2002 by Mr. Staberinde
Mankind stands on the brink of annihilation or rebirth. Discovery of ancient star gates has given the competing races of humanity access to the stars but the base desires to expand, exploit and dominate remain ingrained in human nature. Stoic monks clash with violent warriors as Terrans profit from trade and war with both. As these three factions hurtle towards war a new, heretofore unknown ancient gate is opening in Progen space...
Though RPGs have long used the tried and true Tolkien formulae of grumpy dwarves, mystical elves and greedy humans as their setting, one would think that with the endless possibilities of SF that game developers would try something new. One would be wrong. Earth and Beyond attempts to take the MMOG feel of Everquest and apply it to the space-sim genre.
Let’s look at what this game will offer, shall we?
Character Creation:
In EAB, character creation is a simple thing; you create a character, customize him/her(even down to tweaking height, adding sunglasses/outerwear) and then pick a race and class. The races are typical fare, be it the mystical Jenquai, the warrior Progen or the capitalist Terrans. After you finalize your character’s look you then select the class which determines your course in the game and even which ships you can fly.
Upon completing your character you venture forth into the game. Put away that Sidewinder, however: all movement/controls in the game are through the keyboard and mouse. The spiraling madcap dogfights of Wing Commander have been boiled down to a point-click EQ in space. Huzzah.
I hope you like the look of your classes ship as well, because you’re going to have it for a loooong time. Hull progression and component upgrades are doled out to you as you level up through combat, missions or simple exploration. Your personal avatar that you see upon docking at space stations… Well, he doesn’t do much other than shop, get missions and look fancy. No space station brawls for you.
The one thing that Earth and Beyond does have going for it, however, is eye candy. As you point-click your way across the universe you can marvel at distant nebulae, expanding clouds of debris from your victims and the sun of an alien sun glinting off of your hull. I guess EA, like the Bolivian Man-Trap plant, is hoping to lure in its human victims with bright foliage.
So, how will Earth and Beyond do in the MMOG market? Judging by the limited sales of Jumpgate, not too well. Still, with the backing of Electronic Arts and a simplified interface, Earth and Beyond may be just what the doctor ordered for those who desire the levels and skinner box mentality of EQ, but want to hunt in a spaceship rather than a scantily clad Wood Elf. And hell, if Earth and Beyond fails there’s always Eve: Second Genesis on the horizon. If at first you don’t succeed, keep recycling the same old dregs until you beat the gaming public into catatonic submission.
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