Who sells Dark Star One - Broken Alliance - Xbox 360

Description

In Darkstar One - Broken Alliance, command the mysterious spacecraft, the Darkstar One, allowing near infinite customization capabilities using the latest and even mysterious alien weapons and technologies. Blast into space for in-your-face 3D combat in full 1080p High Definition, explore over 300 alien worlds, buy and sell cargo or services, all while exploring a vast and beautiful universe in a quest to uncover the mystery behind the main character's father.

Features

• Action and adventure in one exciting package an innovative hybrid game that moves the player seamlessly between story-driven adventure, RPG customization and action-packed space battles
• Play as pirate, trader, mercenary, bounty hunter, smuggler or assassin, configuring your ship accordingly, as the game world reacts to your actions and reputation
• Explore a universe of more than 300 solar systems populated by 6 distinct alien races with unique ship designs, tactics, behaviors and realistic economies
• Fully customize the DarkStar One with weapons, engines, shields and over 200 distinct components through trade, salvage, exploration and plunder
• Amazing visuals and sound - enjoy more than 35 hours of true 1080p High Definition gameplay, over 40 minutes of cut-scene storytelling and 90 minutes of original music

Customer Reviews

Nothing 'Broken' about it.
M. Russo

Before I get into my review I'd like to preface with some quick side notes that don't affect my rating:1. The Amazon product images as of this writing are unrelated to this item (other than the same publisher: Kalypso). I was nervous about ordering this item because of this, but I did receive the actual DarkStar One game.2. I've been a serious gamer for over 20 years.3. I have never played the original PC version (DarkStar One (DVD-Rom)) of this game.DarkStar One (DSO from here on) is a surprisingly fun space shooter that manages to defy traditional game classification. Is it action? Is it an rpg? Is it an adventure? Is it a space shooter? All of these descriptions fit in some way, and all are used to describe the game in its own marketing, but DSO doesn't seem to favor any one of them. This makes for an interesting and unique gaming experience that doesn't come along very often. The game seems to subtly adjust around around your playing style based on the missions you decide to take on.If you want some action then get out there and hunt down some space pirates. It seems like the more you hunt down pirates, the more the game throws them at you.If you want some "rpg" then scour the 300+ solar systems for artifacts to "level" your ship up. The rpg elements in DSO are geared specifically towards upgrading your ship as opposed to your character in traditional rpg style.If you want some adventure then follow the main/side story lines to solve a mystery surrounding your father's death.There are even elements of economic management as you can buy/sell trade goods from "Trade Stations" located in every solar system.Above all, however, DSO's greatest achievement is its potential to function as a great casual game or a game to dive into head first and get lost in for hours. Whether you want to kill a little time with some mindless action or bunk off from school/work to spend the day with DSO...either way, it can deliver. This is fairly rare in video games, IMHO.But all is not perfect in the world of DSO. Despite the marketing boasts of 1080P for the xbox 360 version, the cut scenes seem like they didn't get a makeover for this port. Personally this doesn't really bother me, and I didn't rate accordingly. Just fair warning that the cut scenes are a bit dated. Other than that the graphics are great with excellent frame rates. Also, space battles can be a bit repetitious but they're still tons of fun. Finally, my number one complaint, and the reason I couldn't give DSO 5 stars: the controls.Slightly unintuitive but relatively easy to master. The controls are good enough but leave room for improvement. You set your "Basic Propulsion" (your cruising speed, essentially) by holding the left trigger and moving the right stick up (100%) or down (0%). But you can temporarily adjust your speed on-the-fly by moving the right stick up or down *without* holding the left trigger. It sounds strange in print, and it took some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it things start to make sense. But the control scheme fails with its minimalist approach to customization. You can adjust stick sensitivity and invert Y-axis, but that's about it. I would have given this game 5 stars with much more in-depth control customization.Great game at bargain bin pricing. Read more ›

unexpectedly awesome
Jauffre S.

Being a scifi fan,when I first saw this game for cheap,I thought I'd give it a try. My expectations were low. At first I didn't think too highly of my purchase until I figured out all the controls. Such as(you must use reverse thrust to keep the enemies in front of you). The more I played the game the more I liked it. The Metacritic score is 65 out of 100. Though the reviews are positive, they all mention that this is a 4 year old PC port. I believe, if this game would not have come out earlier on PC and was new, it would have scored higher, perhaps around low 80's. Myself, I would give it a 90. The game looks great, contols great, and has different difficulty settings. If things get too tough all you have to do is spend some time upgrading your ship before progressing. The story is on par with any other video game narrative,(That is to say it's average). It has addictive gameplay and is a very long game.

Okay... just okay.
M. DiSpirito

Greetings Amazonites!Darkstar One is an okay game. It reminds me of some old school PC games; it's definitely more strategy/sim than anything else. You are the pilot of an advanced ship that can be upgraded by spending money or finding artifacts. You have a large galaxy to explore. There is an underlying story, but you can avoid it by doing any number of available missions.GRAPHICS & SOUND (4 stars): the visual quality is great. There isn't much to gawk at when not in space; the only other environments are static shots of a space station (interior) or some cut scenes of interior areas. While not jaw-dropping, the space environments are appropriately large and impressive. The stars, asteroids, planets, and so on will definitely impress anyone. The other space ships are less impressive--most are a little blocky or have some fuzzy textures.The sound quality can't be knocked. The music is appropriate and unintrusive; it's not amazing, but it doesn't muck with the gameplay. The sound effects are good, but not great. The weapons, explosions, and other effects convey the atmosphere well.CONTROLS & GAMEPLAY (2 stars): the controls only pertain to action while in space. You fly, shoot, and manage things with various buttons. I found the controls to be awkward and a little clunky. There's two different ways to accelerate and slow down, but the difference between the two isn't clearly explained. There are ways to match a target's speed, but it's mapped to the D-pad; it's a little odd to steer with the L-stick and then reach down to tap something--requiring you to release the steering control. The in-flight controls could use some serious work.It takes some getting used to before you can fly and shoot accurately. I found it frustrating, which contributed to the game losing a lot of fun in my eyes. I can easily imagine this game being much more manageable on a PC--and I think it was intended as such.In the space stations, you're just navigating menus and selecting items--it's a no brainer. The controls are irrelevant.DESIGN & STORY (2 stars): there isn't much of a story to speak of. The backdrop is something about a mysterious ship left to the main character by his father; somewhere in the game, you can pursue how your father died and unlock the mysteries of the ship. None of this is laid out in the beginning cinematic (which makes no sense). Fortunately, the main story isn't that important. Your quest to complete jobs, upgrade the ship, and explore the galaxy is motivation enough to get out there.There are plenty of jobs to do and places to explore. The fast travel points (gates in space) make these trips manageable. There are space stations at most major planets or installations, so finding a place to dock is easy. At any docking site, you can buy/sell commodities and upgrade your ship--as well as search for new jobs. While I enjoy the freedom of picking jobs and flying around, the lack of any coherence at all wears thin very fast.NUTSHELL: The cool space environments and freeform missions aren't enough to counteract the wacky controls and lack of coherent story. It's ultimately a strategy/simulation game involving trade, space dogfights, and random odd jobs--rinse and repeat until you've had enough. If you enjoy these elements, however, you might enjoy this game quite a bit. Read more ›

Underestimated and Over Delivered.
Vollie Mathews

I read the description of this title and to be honest I was excited. For those who played it. It reminded me of a platform version of Eve:Online. The systems were great and the gameplay was a bit sticky but overall very fun. It had a great storyline and was a real treat to play. The overall graphics quality was a bit grainy, especially when accelerated to 1080p. But all in all, was a great title and delivered on my expectations. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys space sims and/or character development games. Play it!!

Freelancer style spaceship game
Brad

I am an old PC gamer, and I still play a round of AGE II several times a week on average.The reason I hunted down Dark Star One, was that one day I wanted to play FREELANCER.I got out my disc, loaded it up, and promptly found the online servers had gone the way of the Dodo.I know I could host my own on my laptop, but no one was likely to see it anyways, so I knew I was pretty much limited to single player.That in mind it occurred to me, just to find a next gen game that was similar.This is not a FREELANCER clone, but for me, it scratched the itch, and added 1000 points to my gamerscore.That is win / win in my book - I recommend it for anyone who wants to play FREELANCER and has an XBOX.There are differences, but they are close enough for me.