The Daily Hot Dog

Current Issues 7/17/01:
Escape Velocity
by Michael Kelly

An e-zine covering Computer Games, Websites, and just about anything else.

The Daily Hot Dog (TDHD) is a division of Surfing Hot Dog Co. (SHDC).

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Executive Editor - Alex Dodge

Managing Editor - C. Remmel

Reporters:
Alex Dodge
C. Remmel
Michael Kelly
Michael Weaver

News and Reviews:

Greetings from the vice-president of The Daily Hot Dog ltd, C. Remmel. Yes, I know, there haven't been many (minus the "m") reports lately, and it's entirely due to my laziness. I'm so lazy. So very lazy. My Psychiatrist says it goes waaay back to when I was a child in a small Texas ranch. Then I realized that I've never been to a small Texas ranch, and I was born in California. Needless to say, I fired my Psychiatrist. Then, I realized that I don't have a Psychiatrist. Perhaps I'm just lazy. You see? That's the sort of swell guy I am! I freely admit mistakes! Aren't I swell? I'll go further: I didn't unload the dishwasher this morning (*gasp!*). Didn't it take courage to confess that? I just must be a swell guy touched by bravery and honesty. I suppose you want to read the report now, so here it is: Escape Velocity (and I hope no one took that seriously).

-Escape Velocity-
by Michael Kelly

EV. For many Mac gamers, the name rings in your ear. EV is Escape Velocity, a sort of odd cross between an arcade space shooter and an RPG. In it, you control space ship, go running around from planet to planet, delivering cargo, buying a selling various commodities, and saving up to get that Kestrel you've always wanted...

It's a top-view, real-time game, and you'll need both some quick reflexes and a good brain to get through the game without getting your atoms spread accross the cosmic void. You start off in a lowly shuttlecraft, making simple cargo runs between various Core planets. But when you get enough dough from those runs, you can buy upgrades for your ship, or a new ship altogether. As you progress, you start getting some high-profile jobs and, eventually, must choose sides in the raging galactic civil war.

There are two main sets of missions: one for the Confederation and one for the Rebels. That's not to say that they have the monopoly on the plot, however. There are tons of other side plots and missions.

There are also a pleathora of third-party plug-ins available. They do anything from adding a space station and 2 ships, to completely re-making the universe. It is in these plug-ins that EV has its greatest strength: The slightly above-average user can easily make a halfway decent plug in, with the help of the oogles of EV-graphics sites out there. (I actually ran one a while back: the ill-fated Centi Shipyards, for those that remember.)

Although it certainly shows its age, EV is, in my opinion, one of the best shareware games in existance. It has a "prequel", Escape Velocity: Override (EVO for short), but it fails to top the original. Another EV (EV Nova, or, you guessed it, EVN) is in the works, though, and it promises to best both EV and EVO.

This is not to say EV is completely flawless. There are a few issues with the AI (exploited by the infamous Monty Python maneuver), but these do not detract much from the game. In fact, it gives Those That Know another term to throw around ("Monty Python maneuver") and alienate people... :)

If you have a Mac, like games, and haven't done it already because you've been living under a rock for the last 5 years, go and get you a copy of Escape Velocity. It's a shareware, so you can get a feel for the game before you pay.

Ratings:
Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a total convert of this game...
Overall Rating: 5.0
Graphics: 3.5
User Interface: 4.5
Replay: 5.0
Single Player: 5.0
Multiplayer: n/a
Splat Rating: 0.5

Links:
Ambrosia Software. The makers of EV, EVO, and the upcomming EVN. Go here for lots of info on EV, EVO, and, of course, EVN!
Celtic Starbase. Could be a pretty darned good site, were it not for the flood of pop-ups at the main screen...
The Catacomb. Another so-so site.
Caernarvon Station. A good graphics site.
EV Exp Set. More great free stuff.

Screenies:
Earth. Oooooh...Earth...
Hailing a Light Freighter. Ala Star Trek, you can hail other ships and bug the heck out of them...
Outfits. Some of the fun shwag you can get for your ship.
The shipyard. Some of the fun ships you can buy...
Stardock Alpha. Stardock Alpha, a big ol' space station. Maybe this is the future of the International Space Station...