Review: Galaxy On Fire 2 - The Wait Is Over

Overview

Galaxy On Fire 2 picks up where the original left off following the mercenary space pilot Keith T. Maxwell who is catapulted 35 years in to the future. Now he must try to find his way through a different time and space back to Eden Prime, and help out with the fate of the galaxy with colliding species. A space adventure trading game with a deluxe storyline and galaxy to navigate with side missions as well.

Features

There are over 20 solar systems that contain 100 different space stations that act as launching points for the entire game. There is the main story to always follow, but you can go on side missions through the space lounge at any space station. The side missions include: transporting objects, selling commodities from different stations and cleaning up the system of garbage of pirate ships. As you earn money you can buy upgrades for your ship or a new ship all together with 30 unique ships in the game. There is also the ability to mine ore from asteroids at anytime, and the game supports Game Center and OpenFeint as well as retina display.

The Good

Galaxy On Fire 2 is an extremely deluxe and intricate game that is absolutely loaded with content. There are hours and hours of gameplay by just following the story, and not taking on too many side missions. Once you start to freelance in the complex galaxy you can really rack up the playtime. With all that can be going on there is always a clear path forward with an accurate key on any map view to see what’s next for the main story missions or side missions. The gameplay has quite a bit of variability as you move through the story with varying missions that increase in difficulty well. You will need to upgrade your ship to be prepared for later missions, and be able to handle more difficult and more enemies at once.

The game is absolutely beautifully designed with so much eye candy. Each of the 100 space station environments is unique, and so beautifully designed especially for a retina display. The space particle effects of shifting rocks, nebulous clouds, and destruction of enemy ships is truly jaw dropping. There are two camera angles with one better for targeting in missions, and the other a free view mode to pan the camera around to take it all in. It's amazing spinning the camera around to see to deluxe space atmosphere that is unmatched on the iDevice to date. The voice acting is very well done as well as the story as a whole to keep you intrigued, and wanting to finish the lengthy story.

The Bad

The game does have some slow moving parts as once you enter a solar system it takes a few minutes to move between way points and the space station, and you just have to wait. You can warp right to other planets, but there isn't a way to speed up when at a particular planet. The throttle is also a concern as you can't control it which is the main issue behind the speed concern above. The menu system is a bit buggy as anytime there is an area to press the game often doesn't recognize your action without a few taps. Galaxy On Fire isn't a space combat game, but much more a mission based adventure game so it's not filled with action like Star Battalion is. Some of the missions have no combat at all, so if that's what you're looking for, just keep that in mind. When you're using tilt controls you have to recalibrate often, and you should lower the sensitivity especially with a gyroscope device, as otherwise it's tough to lock on to targets.

The Verdict

Galaxy On Fire 2 is one of the most deluxe offerings in the App Store that will keep you entertained for hours on end. The game is exceptionally well designed with some of the best visuals yet seen on the iDevice. The storyline coupled with side missions provides tons of content that offers plenty of variability. Galaxy On Fire 2 is a should buy for $6.99, and even higher for fans of a space adventure.