Colony Wars: Red Sun

Colony Wars: Red Sun (called Colony Wars III: Red Sun in North America) is a space combat simulator video game for the PlayStation developed and released by Psygnosis in 2000.[1] Other two episodes were released beforehand, namely Colony Wars in 1997 and Colony Wars: Vengeance in 1998.

Colony Wars: Red Sun
Cover art of Colony Wars: Red Sun
Developer(s)Psygnosis
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Producer(s)Dave Semmens
Designer(s)Simon Stratford
Jody Cobb
Scott Naylor
Programmer(s)Mike Chilton (lead)
Graeme Baird
Simon Booth
Julian Gold
Artist(s)Ben Devereau
Chris Hogg
Composer(s)Gary McKill
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • NA: May 2, 2000
  • EU: 2000
Genre(s)Space combat simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Instead of being a starfighter pilot for the League of Free Worlds or the Colonial Navy, the player now assumes the role of a civilian miner-turned-mercenary.

Gameplay

Players engage in space and atmospheric combat missions using one of nine spacecraft. Each starfighter carries a certain combination of weapons. The player earns money for killing enemy targets or completing missions, which vary from simple intercepts to escort duties. The money earned can be used to buy more advanced spacecraft and weapons. Although the spacecraft have a certain combination of weapons, the game introduces an upgrade system where players can insert new weapons and parts into a number of predetermined slots on the vehicle. However, there are limitations: the player cannot install more than three of the same kind of laser. These parts can include scatter guns, subspace dampeners, and drones of various purposes. The velocity sight used in Vengeance also returns.

When fighting any large space vessels, the player is now given a chance to target individual parts of the ship, such as gun turrets.

Red Sun also breaks from the standard "Acts" mission system seen in the first two games. Since the player is a mercenary, a number of missions are arrayed in the Status Menu for the player to choose from, but only those marked with the letter P must be finished to advance the plot of the game. Engaging in non-story critical missions allows the player to earn money and purchase ships and weapon upgrades to help progression through the main campaign.

Premise

The game is set around the time frame of Vengeance. A miner in the Dendray system named Alexander Lyron Valdemar experiences strange dreams about an alien race called the Sha'Har and a mysterious ship called the Red Sun. A man known as the General forces him to get on the case of investigating the Red Sun and how it is tied to the survival of the galaxy.

Reception

Noah Massey reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "If you've ever dreamed about fighting in an epic space battle, then this is without a doubt the game for you."[3]

Official UK PlayStation Magazine awarded the game with 8/10 in issue No. 57, calling it "a superb, cinematic shoot 'em up." It also received an average score of 84.03% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 19 reviews.[2]

References
  1. "Midway Announces Colony Wars: Red Sun". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. June 1, 2000. Archived from the original on September 25, 2000. Retrieved July 3, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
  2. "Colony Wars: Red Sun". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  3. Massey, Noah (April 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 4. Imagine Media. p. 90.


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