I made the jump into Ancient Space, looking to replenish my fleet-based, sci-fi RTS reserves, and what I found did the trick—but only just. Around me shimmered a constellation of gorgeous environmental art, strong mission variety, and impressive tactical depth. But the more I saw, the more I felt weighed down by the gravity of uninspired story presentation, and gameplay elements that sound better on paper than they are in practice.
The 20-hour campaign launched me into orbit around an Event Horizon-esque expedition exploring a mysterious area of space called The Black Zone, on the trail of a supercarrier that went missing while investigating a possible alien threat. Across 15 missions, I was treated to a moderately engaging story with some cool twists, but no especially outstanding or memorable characters. Starship Troopers alum Dina Meyer gave a respectable, grounded performance as the expedition’s de facto leader, but most of the rest of the cast (including Firefly’s Ron Glass and Battlestar’s Aaron Douglas) sounded like they just came out of hypersleep and weren’t entirely aware of what was going on. Plot details were mostly delivered Captain’s Log-style, with disconnected monologues between missions, stymying chances for character interaction and making the story feel less alive and personal.
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