Value Gaming has often been given a bad name by the gaming public. People often associate lower priced games from smaller studios as graphically inferior games with simple gameplay and frequent bugs.
Thankfully that is not the case for the delightful throwback game Space Trader- Merchant Marine by by HermitWorks Entertainment and Meridian 4.
The game casts players as an aspiring trader who must go deep into debt in order to obtain a space ship to become a player on the galactic trade market. Once this has been accomplished, players move about spaceports on Earth and the Moon, as well as other locales later in the game to buy and sell goods as well as obtain information for side quests.
In a new twist players must complete the levels by obtaining a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time. In this case, the time is based upon the time spent traveling to and from planets. This part of the game comes with both the story and challenge mode, though challenge modes eschews the story of the game in favor of time based trade challenges only.
For gamers with an itchy trigger finger, players can play as a Bounty Hunter and in a 3D shooter style prospective, take on legions of goons in a timed segment in order to defeat a bounty.
Multiplay is also offered in the form of a trade challenge that tasks players to try to accumulate as much money as they can within a given timeframe.
The variety of the game as well as the $9.99 price makes it easy to overlook the few issues I had such as the being able to save only after travel and the lack of a good map tool for helping gamers get around new locales. The graphics and sound are a bit dated and bring to mind some of the graphics and gameplay of the Playstation 2 and X Box consoles .
That being said, Space Trader is a fun diversion for those with a nostalgic taste for the past and who want something new on a budget.
You can obtain Space trade on the Steam Network and more information can be found at
https://www.playspacetrader.com/
3 stars out of 5
