I tried to like this game, I swear I did. I still do like it in some ways. I like the graphics, the style, the humor, the programing that keeps it running smooth even on shitty computers and pretty much everything except the actual gameplay itself. Why don't I like the gameplay? Well let me explain.

See, GSB uses a system where you customize your ships with various systems, modules, defenses and weapons before arranging them in attack formation and then...letting the game play for you. Once you hit start on that battle screen there isn't a thing you can do to influence the game, you just have to sit back and hope that you made the right decisions. Now that in and of itself is a pretty dangerous move because it means relying on the computer who is often a wanton idiot where your ships are concerned. Though there is a way to give specific and more in depth commands for the ships to follow before the battle, the actual menu for this system is extremely tedious, requiring you to give individual commands to every last damn ship, meaning that if you just want to tell a group of ships to fall back if they start taking damage you have to manually assign these orders to each and every ship you want to be effected. There is no way that I've found to copy orders to other ships or copy ships that have these orders and in battles with massive numbers of smaller ships this becomes mind numbingly boring to an unimaginable degree.

Even if you go through the massive waste of setting up these orders it might not count for anything. The major complaint I have about this game is simply that you often have very little idea why you're winning or losing. Often times it seems like moving one frigate just slightly to the right can mean the difference between victory or defeat; the problem with this is that you have no idea WHY it has such significance. I think the main problem here is basically the entire idea of a "tower defense game with space ships". Since everything is moving and controlled entirely by the computer you only have a very vague idea of what will effect what and how. I played on level with 5 cruisers and 9 frigates and got my ass kicked, so I replayed it with everything being exactly the same except that I changed the position of one of the cruisers by placing slightly farther back; this time I won with ease. It's not only confusing but it robs you of the feeling of accomplishing anything.

Its unfortunate because I really do like everything about this game other then the actual game aspect of it. It seems like some sort of weird simulator, something that you should just enter in some info and chill while watching an epic space battle. But the reality of it is that it's the kind of game where you have to spend sometimes as much as a half hour or an hour just setting everything up only to have a semi-random out come. I hear some of the mods balance it out more, but I can't really base a review on other people's work which is trying to fix something that seems inherently broken. Tis a shame.

5/10

I haven't played it, but I didn't expect much. The trailer on Steam showed some pretty pathetic battles IMO.
Maybe I am just spoiled, I have SoaSE and it has some truly epic battles on it. If you are willing to sacrifice a weekend to build a fleet.

Well, thanks for the review. Now i'll certainly play a demo before buying or not buying it.

This is an actual game? As in the kind you have to pay for? 'Cause it sounds like one of those Flash games you'd find on Addicting Games.

Yeah, I watched vids of this and thought: okay, would I rather play this or SoaSE? I gotta admit I like a lot of the designs here a little better. I like the music here a lot better. But at the end of the day, Sins looks more fun and epic if you have the time.

If you could combine the two and find a way to speed up Sins a little bit, that would be the best of both worlds.

If it were on PSN for $15 I would probably get it.

I really enjoyed GSB, see my review of the beta:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.140010

After a day of dismal failure I finally figured out a pretty powerful ship combo and went on to totally destroy the enemy fleet in each encounter. The game probably appeals to me more than the average gamer since I am also a programmer, and this is like programming the apocalypse.

I remember the developer apologizing for making it non deterministic (random), but considering all the projectiles and armor/shield based hit chances, I don't entirely blame him for that decision. Still with a good fleet the result will be far from random.

A little tip for those who get stuck, surrender immediately when something goes wrong: There is no point in watching a battle in which you have issued a stupid order, or used the wrong ship/module. Just quit, make the fix and try again.

It's a game that's more about the tinkering than about watching the flashy fights. I enjoy the game a lot, but at the same time, I also spent more time tinkering with Eve Fitting Tool than actually playing Eve.

j0z:
I haven't played it, but I didn't expect much. The trailer on Steam showed some pretty pathetic battles IMO.
Maybe I am just spoiled, I have SoaSE and it has some truly epic battles on it. If you are willing to sacrifice a weekend to build a fleet.

OR you can mod it so that the price to sell is LESS than the price to buy, then its a matter of spamming f6 and ctrl+f6..

ANND little short on the review, feels more like one part, could use intro and conclusion

Played the demo, and i liked it. Found a basic combo that works well, just have to tinker around and design your ships properly as to optimize power/crew/space/speed.

The real challenge, imho, is to use frigates exclusively; they die just like that. I usually equip them with missiles and tell them to stay far, FAR away from the action, so they shoot their guns at max range but stay out of trouble.