S.P.A.Z.

Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z for short) is a real-time 2D strategy/sand-box game with a top-down perspective based around space naval combat.
Developed by a two man team under the studio MinMax it uses the Torque engine which gives the game stunning visuals whilst not being too demanding on hardware.
The Story
The Galaxy is in turmoil as two factions declare war on each-other
You and your crew of hardened space veterans are left floating adrift after your Mothership suffers from a major malfunction, thrusting you into a series events that cascade from bad to worse whilst you struggle to stay alive.
Gameplay
Overall
You control one ship at a time using the WASD keys to thrust and maneuver whilst your mouse pointer will change the direction of the ship.
You jump from system to system, from planet to planet doing simple quests, vizitin stations, buying schematics for new ship components, and leveling up through combat.
Controls
The controls feel fluid and natural whilst maintaining some very convincing physics that is very easy to pick up.
Left mouse fires main weapons, right button fire alternative weapons (Such as rockets) and the middle button launches Shuttles filled with marines.
You can scroll out to take in a large area of the battlefield or zoom close in to see the details of the very well designed ships.
The interface is easy to use with hot-keys attached to the Function keys allowing quick tactical changes in the middle of battle plus various other aspects of the game such as research, the star map and logs.
Combat
The ships dodge and chase, let loose massive salvo's of high-tech lasers and cannons, stealth so that they can't be seen whilst unleashing hordes of tiny fighters on their enemies and generally explode in a very satisfying way.
Each vessel has Shields, Armour and Hull and each is strong/weak against certain types of weapon, so you can't just equip all your ships the same as you'll only specialise in one area whilst your opponent will quickly whittle away your defences.
You generally fight against the UTA or the Civilian factions depending on your standing with them in the current star system.
Later in the game another enemy appears inviting a whole new host of interesting game-play to the battles.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu