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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
X3: Reunion Install Problem Fix, December 29, 2005
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: X3 Reunion (DVD-ROM)
This isn't exactly a review, but there is a workaround for installing the game for those who received a defective Disc 2 with missing files:
When you receive the error message for the 08105.mp3 or 08106.mp3 file, put in Disc 3 and click Retry, then click Ignore when the error message comes up again.
Download the missing files from Enlight here:
For file 08105.mp3
http://www.enlight.com/x3/08105.zip
For file 08106.mp3
http://www.enlight.com/x3/08106.zip
Extract then Drag and drop Or copy and paste the 1 or 2 mp3's to "C:\Program Files\EGOSOFT\X3 REUNION\soundtrack" depending on which file you are having problems with.
(Workaround From Enlight support @ http://www.enlight.com/pq/product/view.php?id=455)
I thought X2 was a great game that steadily improved over time with patches from the developer. Time will tell for X3.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A game idea that deserved better execution., February 25, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: X3 Reunion (DVD-ROM)
Story:
There is apparently a plot in the game. I'm not sure exactly what it is. The only somewhat coherent explanation for what is happening in the story is found on the back of the game box. There is an alien race attacking your race's planets and it is up to you to do something about it. Your dad needs your help too. Cutscenes appear and talking heads narrate fluff pieces. Characters make unexplained choices and do things that don't make any sense. Then, the story ends and we know as much about what happened as we did at the beginning. I can't be bothered to write more about it since it seems like it was an afterthought.
Luckily for everyone, it is possible to play a non-plot game.
Game Play:
Random go-here-and-kill-this-guy, or bring-me-to-that-place missions, and some news article fluff are found on various space station bulletin boards. They are the core of what could be best described as the provided content in the game. These get repetitive after 2 or 3 days of play. A player that is not interested in the trading and economic portion of the game will find these missions are the best, if most tedious, way to make money.
The bulk of the play is sandbox-style. Players are left to develop their own goals and essentially develop their own way of playing. I enjoyed this aspect, but I would have appreciated more mission types and more intuitive ways of getting the missions. The existing process requires a player to dock at a station, cross their fingers, and hope that a post will appear on the bulletin board giving something fun to do.
Play Control:
The many ships able to be purchased by the player have various control characteristics such as maximum speeds and turning abilities. The small and fast ships are very agile. The battleships and trading vessels are not fast and turn very slowly. This makes for a realistic experience depending on what ship you are flying.
The weapons, shields, and other items have some variety but nothing spectacular.
The ship interface is necessary to control ships and to give them orders. This is also a requirement for players who wish to control more than one ship at once. Unfortunately for the player, this interface consists of a nightmare of unintuitive, cryptically labeled, and nested menus and sub-menus. Often, I feel like I'm programming my ship instead of flying it. All of this does very little to abstract the gameplay experience from the scripting engine that runs it.
Graphics and Sound:
Everything in this game is beautiful. I don't know if there is much else to say. X3: Reunion should be recognized as the prettiest space sim to date. This claim does not go to the cutscenes and other videos which contain only talking heads that appear freakishly zombie-like.
The voice sounds are somewhat lacking in the ship computer as they are pieced together by stuttering bits of words; and the voice sounds vary from 'somewhat depressed' to 'completely stoned'.
Most of the laser noises are better than average and produce a satisfying whoosh! or zap! when hitting the enemy.
Execution and Problems:
The overall feel of the game is less like a game and more like a game development environment. I see that there is a sizable community of script makers at Egosoft's forums. They are willing to make the game what it should have been.
With the inclusion of the built-in script editor, a person with some programming knowledge and the willingness to sift through the poorly written and disorganized documentation on the Egosoft website can build themselves a rich and fun game experience.
I'm not going to go into the many bugs that made the game unplayable in its released state. Needless to say, the game was probably at pre-beta quality when it was boxed and shipped. Patching is not optional, but required, to get the game to a playable state.
Shame on Egosoft for not being more responsive on their forums to the many, many cries of customers publically asking for progress reports on upcoming bugfixes.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Get it right the first time!, January 30, 2006
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: X3 Reunion (DVD-ROM)
Up until about a week ago, I agreed with all of the negative reviews of this game. Though I did not have installation problems, I did have lag times (even at the lowest settings) and the game was pretty near unplayable. After reading the forums on Egosoft's site, I realized that Egosoft released a game that was nowhere near ready to release. Of course, as you all know, once you buy and open a game you are stuck with it so I uninstalled it and chalked it up to being taken.
However, since that time, EgoSoft has released two more patches (1.3 and 1.3.01). These have made the game not only playable, but enjoyable! I was so excited to actually be able to play the game. The graphics are gorgeous as is the soundtrack. You really get the feeling that you are part of a large universe. The free roaming game is truly free roaming where you pretty much do whatever you want, but pay consequences/reap rewards of your actions. I'm not sure what some folks are expecting from the graphics department or the mission variety, but I have no complaints about them.
I am not going to get into the specifics of the game because if you're interested, you can learn about the game from egosoft's site, gamespot, or IGN. As far as fun goes, I give the game a 4-Star rating, because now that I can play it I'm hooked! Yes, the controls are pretty involved and the learning curve is indeed a bit steep, but I have had worse. I do agree that a game of this magnitude should have a better tutorial system. (Please note that I never concern myself with 'plot holes' in a story line in a game as long as I am having fun so I can't comment on that.)
The reason, the overall rating is 2-stars is because Egosoft should be ashamed of themselves for releasing the game in the condition it was released. While they should be lauded for being upfront about the problems, fixing them, and offering a download of an updated manual, we should not have had to endure the pain of waiting two months for everything!
If you don't mind spending $40 on a game and then patching it as soon as you get home, then I highly recommend this game. If you are still interested, but are afraid to take the leap of faith you can get X2: The Threat for about $30. The graphics are not as stellar, but the gameplay is similar and the bugs have been worked out.
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