You’ll see these little guys moving on their own trade routes, having their own wars, and if you’re really lucky, maybe you’ll see them find some friends along the way. “People” is a loose term here, as the game was entirely populated by AI units. You may even become a pirate and make a living by pillaging other people’s ships. You might stay an ordinary day-trader and make a fortune, or you could become a mercenary and go on perilous missions. You might choose to remain neutral in the interplanetary war between the Galactic government and their Rebels, or you could choose a side and join the fight. You’ll be control your destiny by trading, buying, selling, transporting people and goods, and going on special missions for a wide and seemingly endless cast of characters. You’ll do this by slowly earning enough money to buy a new ship, most often a freighter with very little in the ways of defenses, and outfitting it with your desired capabilities. In the Escape Velocity franchise, you started the game as the humble owner of a shuttlecraft who has a hunger for riches and glory. The first game of my life that was eating up dozens of nights of my life, preventing me from truly developing friends and enjoying the joys of hockey games, was here in front of me, and I wasn’t going to stop till I hit my first million credits. I hadn’t ever felt so invested in a game as I had this one, a video game where I was building a galactic empire, system by system, and a name for myself as a mercenary and a truly powerful starship captain. I was discovering something about myself, something that would shape me into a true gamer. I should be finishing up my homework for my Social Studies class, but instead, I am engrossed in the battles happening on the much-to-bright screen of the candy apple red IMac that’s perched upon the dresser that’s alongside my new-to-me twin-sized bed. My room is filled with the sounds of laser battles, imagination, and the steady sounds of digital capitalism. Today Gunum is talking about Escape Velocity Nova, which was released in 2002 and could be seen as one of the earliest games where making political choices changed the landscape you played in. Welcome back to GOONHAMMER ’02, where we look back at the games and media that we loved 20 years ago.

Mortal empires mods