Frontier: Elite 2
| Developer: David Braben | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Gametek | Sound: |
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| Year: 1993 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
9/10 | |
Found Elite ambitious? Wait until you see its sequel. The concept remains the same: you’re an insignificant spaceship pilot, deep in the galaxy, with total freedom. You can trade, pursue a bounty hunter or outlaw career, whatever you fancy. Moreover, your exploits will help you establish your reputation, while also raking in mountains of credits to purchase the spaceship of your dreams, equipped with all the latest weapons and gadgets. After that, feel free to strut about in the spaceport of your choice, calling Han Solo an uranist…
What immediately strikes the eye, compared to its predecessor, is the quality of the 3D graphics. The intro, admittedly a bit kitsch for a jaded player like myself, still had enough to make generations of geeks drool.
Here, everything is larger, richer. There are more planets to visit (our solar system is included), more ships and weapons to buy, various missions offered for those who might feel lost in this vast universe, and a solid context that was somewhat lacking in the first instalment. You now have two rival factions to work for (or against), a range of specific ranks to pursue, numerous interactions (mini dialogues) with local administrations, vendors, or other ship captains. You feel less alone and yet simultaneously more anonymous and left to your own devices than ever before.
The downside of such a colossal game: a preliminary investment of around an hour is essential to get the hang of things. Furthermore, the array of options has expanded even more, and the icon-based interface will remain totally incomprehensible until you open the manual. One could also argue that in trying to push realism too far, the game loses some of its gameplay intensity, particularly during combat phases. There are occasional bugs and difficulties running the game without slowdown on an Amiga 500. On an emulator simulating an Amiga 1200 or a CD32 console, no problems. Let’s finally acknowledge the optimisation feat: imagine an entire galaxy fitting on a single floppy disk (two disks in the earliest versions)!
Frontier was also released on Atari ST, CD32, and PC. Its sequel, Frontier: First Encounters, ultimately couldn’t be released on Amiga. It was released on PC in 1995, hastily and riddled with bugs. Elite 4 was repeatedly announced and postponed between 2000 and 2010, which doesn’t bode well for the future of the series.
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