Starquest Online Review: Best Space Game with Worst Graphics

By Kei Beneza (dividelife), Onrpg Journalist

When it comes to Space role playing I have to admit, StarQuest Online is DEFINITELY the best space role playing game today. If you're looking for an awesome Star wars/Star Trek-like experience then I'd like to personally recommend this game to you. StarQuest is an MMORPG that's (you guessed it!) set in the dark corners of space. While the graphics are as BAD as a dried up wound, the game play stands out among its competitors. The characters really look like they're wearing Star Trek fleet uniforms, so it will probably have no problem of luring space fans onboard. 

Part of the World

Your deeds are literally listed down in the page of history. The game records any in game phenomena caused by players (whether good or bad). Making a name for yourself wouldn't be a problem if your deeds are recorded in history, right? This is a very excellent feature and can do wonders for any role players out there.

Make A Living in Outer Space

There are over 100,000 different planets in Starquest online so there's no doubt that there's enough room for everyone (in case you are wondering how big the game is). You can make a colony in your respective planet and do business with the merchant fleet for more in game money. Business is normally the best way to earn; I guess it really does apply everywhere, even in games. You can also kill other players as a space pirate if you're too lazy to earn money the right way. Again, these features are essential for role playing and greatly compliment the Open PVP system.

Captain! We're being hit! We must activate the super omega geekazoid transfunctioner booster!

Remember what it was like to play space fleet with your friends? If ever, which part of the fleet were you? Now's the time to see how well you played your role for the game encourages players to man ships using their corresponding roles. Although you can fly a ship on your own, it's quite awesome to actually act out as your character during the midst of space exploration. The command center or cockpit does resemble the ones from Star Trek so you should have no problem geek-ing in with the others. If you were to ask me, this game was presented pretty well. If the graphics were better, I'd say this would be a perfect game.

Build, Customize, and Conquer

Much like any other MMO, you'll be purchasing items and upgrades to make your ship powerful. You can also get an engineer to make sure everything is in order. If you don't want to suck in battle, then it's probably a good idea to make sure that your ship is in tip top shape, don't you think?

The story that never ends: a life of a space cadet/pirate/merchant

The most amazing feature in StarQuest Online would have to be the storyline in general. You're basically given a scenario and it's up to everyone to make the story progress further. Since everyone has their own roles in the game, don't think that you yourself don't matter.  If I must sum it up: suppose a group of pirates hold a planet hostage. It's up to the Alliance to make sure everything goes well. This means that they'll need to either arrest or destroy the enemy to get the job done. If however, the pirates were too strong and managed to go through with a catastrophic plan to (let's say...) burn the Alliance fleet away, the deed will be listed down as one of the most diabolical schemes in the game's book of history. Neat huh? Rivalries between factions are likely to occur at any given time. War is no exception as well. The game literally projects the life of a space civilization and it definitely does not get any better than this.  It's not every day that we get to have a game that lets us mold the storyline like crazy, so make the best of it and do your part!

Let's talk about the graphics: and god it's really bad

Nothing in this world is perfect, and though this game has it going on, there will always be something to pull it down. Yes, the graphics are really terrible. PlayStation (I) games look a lot better than this game and I'm not even exaggerating. Almost everything is polygonal and some planets look like JPEG files scattered across the net. Everything is pretty much low res (low resolution) so it may look really dull and could even be dismissed as a really bad game in this era of gaming. 

The ingame sounds are bad as well since it tends to repeat itself most of the time. This particular element may become rather annoying as you play through the game, though it's nothing your music player can't fix.

The Verdict

The game is really something! Customizable storyline, space battles, pirates, possibly everything a space fanatic would hope for. The graphics may disturb your rhythm since it's technically as bad as it gets. Characters don't have faces and would probably be comparable with the first SIMS game, only worse. The characters aren't rendered and would look like molded clay without even the slightest bit of detail. The ship's interior looks like an overstretched picture as well. Though graphics aren't the main focus of each game, it does act as the medium that hooks players into playing the game. They could've made it much better, considering the fact that first SIMS game is more than outdated by now.  The game is really role playing at its finest, with a book to mark each and every phenomenon in the game's timeline. Being able to be a part of a player based fleet is also a big plus since it allows players to immerse themselves in the game's scenario even further. The whole space wars thing never gets old, and if ever StarQuest is a vision of what the future may bring, damn it I can't wait any longer.

Pros: 
-Molded storyline
-Book of History
-Presentation
-Really addictive.

Cons:
-Graphics are totally bad
-I'd rather turn of the music (since it's the same thing over and over again).