First Looks// Post-PAX Impressions: Dreadnought, Gemini and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions

Sometimes Chris gets so busy the rest of us start to sweat just from following him on Twitter. He dug into a LOT of games over the course of PAX Prime 2014, and over the next week or so we're going to be bringing you his impressions. For Part 2: Dreadnought; Gemini and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions...


Dreadnought by Yager Development

While playing Halo did you ever want to be a pilot of one of those Pelican drop ships? Or perhaps one of those Covenant frigates that hung low in the atmosphere as they unleashed volley after volley of heat death on to the surface via its vast array of plasma cannons? It appears Yager Development, the German developer behind Dreadnought, has answered an emphatic 'yes' to both questions as it is set to release this capital spaceship combat sim onto the unsuspecting videogame community.

Dreadnought gives the player the opportunity to control a large space vessel, ranging from a frigate right up to a hulking great battleship. All have their own characteristics, with frigates being fast and manoeuvrable with little-to-no armour, while battleships are hulking great masses that pack an enormous punch but can be laid low by more agile vessels.

While at PAX Prime 2014 I spent some time with Dreadnought taking the controls of both a frigate and a battleship. Both of these ships were at the extreme ends of the selection of ships available and forced me to play the game very differently.

The frigate had me darting in out of fire range while harassing the opposing fleet of ships by firing volley of missiles and jumping out of trouble before anyone could see me.

The battleship had me lumbering around the playing field, unleashing white hot death on anything that came within firing range. Both experiences were immensely satisfying and quite convincing, especially when I fired a series of broadsides against an almost defenceless corvette. I can still hear the explosion over a week later...

Visually Dreadnought is impressive and it certainly is going to be one of its selling points upon its release. However, from the build I played some work was needed on the textures of both the planet's surface and the space craft themselves. This did little to dampen my enthusiasm for the game, however, and I for one will be keeping an eye out for it when it arrives next year on Windows PC.


Gemini by (ahem) Gemini

The constant ebb and flow of people on the show floor at PAX can result in some serious disorientation. So much so that sometimes you just need somewhere to find one's centre for fear of becoming completely discombobulated. It is at this point I make a beeline for games like Gemini, as while I'm playing them I can once again find my centre and go about my day.

Gemini is a difficult game to pin down, primarily because of the control scheme it has. The player takes the role of a shining orb that starts the game resting on the surface.

They can only move left and right; there is no jumping or diving. Upward movement is only granted when the player's orb is close to a computer controlled orb that is slightly smaller. Once the player is close to this orb they drift up with it, sending both player and AI controlled orb into the heavens.