Publisher: Soldak Entertainment
Developer: Soldak Entertainment
System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/Win 7/Mac OS10.4, 1.5 GHz Pentium IV or better CPU, 256 MB RAM, GeForce 2 or better graphics card, 200 MB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

Every once in awhile, I get something new and interesting across my virtual desk. Drox Operative is one such game. In many ways, it plays like a space version of Diablo, but it has victory conditions like any of a hundred RTS games. It also has espionage action with planets that brings to mind some older CRPGs. My experience with Drox Operative was interesting, and while not the most addicting game I’ve played, it certainly has appeal for those looking for something altogether different.

When I say this game is like a space version of Diablo, I’m talking about its core gameplay elements. While you’re piloting a ship in space, it might as well be an isometric display with 2D tiles that are planets and stars instead of deserts and forests. You gather your quests, take your ship into space, and fly around by pointing the mouse at tiles. You engage enemies in much the same way, selecting special weapons and attacks with the number keys. Outfitting your ship is much like outfitting a character with equipment. You put gear in slots that you hope will improve your performance. The only catch to all of this is, your ship has power restrictions, so the best item to use might be something with less flashy stats simply because it budgets your limited power better.

But the real meat and potatoes of Drox Operative are the victory conditions. In most Diablo clones, the goal is to kill progressively tougher enemies until you defeat the biggest and toughest of them all. Then you win. Drox Operative is a bit more complicated. The NPC races spend their time doing RTS things. They’re fighting wars with each other, killing random monsters in space, and conducting trade and espionage, in addition to asking you for help with quests. Your goal is not just to kill bad guys, but also to achieve any of the following conditions: ally with the last living race (Military Win); unite all remaining races, including the Drox (Diplomatic Win); earn the Drox Guild enough money in this sector (Economic Win); destroy race ships, planets, and powerful monsters (Fear Win); or destroy powerful monsters and solve noteworthy quests (Legend Win).

It’s also possible to lose the game without ever dying. If one race manages to conquer a sector and you aren’t allied with them (Military Loss), if you’re at war with all of the remaining races (Diplomatic Loss), or you lose the Drox Guild too much money in a sector (Economic Loss), then you’re toast. As a result, while you’re a hero with a job to do, the universe around you is busy doing its own thing. If you get lazy, or make everyone angry, or become a black hole of money, it doesn’t matter how heroic you are; you still lose. Adding to all of this, while the various NPC races are doing their own RTS thing, they also try to solve their own problems. This means if they ask for your help in killing Enemy X, and you spend your time doing something else, then they might just kill it themselves. That’s a dangerous precedent to set as a member of the Drox, and it’s quite refreshing to find a game in which NPCs aren’t just lazy idiots who never try to kill the nasty enemy that keeps destroying their ships/homes/favorite curios.

While the gameplay found in Drox Operative is an interesting mash-up of different genres, the game comes with some issues. If you want sexy graphics, then this isn’t going to be your game. While I don’t mind low-end visuals as long as the gameplay is solid, I know that some of you think this is important. Aside from that, I found that the game’s mechanics don’t always mesh well together. At a certain point while playing in every sector, you really have the power to do just about anything. Conquer everyone else? Sure. Become a legend? Yeah, you can do that, too. In fact, when you become an intergalactic hero with a ship that can annihilate entire fleets of NPCs, the victory conditions kind of merge together, because being powerful in one way makes you more than capable of achieving all victory conditions. It’s better than just pursuing better gear as a game goal, but I wonder what might be achieved with better or more carefully planned win/loss conditions.

So, would I recommend the game? It has a free demo, so anyone looking for something really different ought to give it a try. While not perfect, Drox Operative shows a commitment to out-of-the-box thinking about game design. And priced at $19.99, it’s not a bad independent game.

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