issue 16 / volume 40

 

 

Screenshot from Faster than the Speed of Light // By www.pastemagazine.com

Indie Analysis: frustrating space
adventure for sci-fi enthusiasts

» ‘Faster Than Light’ review

Ryan Volkman
Contributor

OOS

laser beam pierces the
hield of your spaceship,

igniting and destroying all
that lies in its path. Frantically,
you order that the airlocks be
opened in those compartments,
exposing them to the vacuum
of space. Almost instantly, the
raging inferno is snuffed out
from the lack of oxygen.

Then, after resealing it, you
send one of your crew members
to repair the wrecked shield
system. But you didn’t see that

: are a commander within the

: United Federation with vital

: information regarding the

: invading Rebel Fleet. You must
: relay this information across

: the galaxy to save the waning

: Federation itself. However, this
: will not be easy, as the Rebel

: Fleet has heard of you, and

: will pursue you relentlessly

: throughout.

You will control the ship on

its journey to the other end of

: the galaxy by the usage of the

: FTL engine of your ship. If you

: are not under an immediate

: threat, you travel by consulting
; amap with a lot of nodes on it.
: It shows where you are in the

: sector, and by what routes you

: the locations of all the systems
: of each vessel. Each symbol

: represents a type of system,

: such as the weapon system or

: the engines. As commander,

: you order your ship to fire on

: opposing systems to disable

: them from usage. While firing
: on them will deal damage to the
: Opposing ship’s hull, disabling
: systems will have predictable

: effects, such as de-powering

: their weaponry if you shoot

: their weaponry system. With

: enough damage to a ship’s hull,
: the opposing ship will explode,
: leaving you victorious.

Do not be surprised if many

attempts end in failure, with
: your crew killed, while your

All control in your commanding chair is done with
a simple, single button on the mouse, so you can't
blame the controls for your own failures.

the opposing spaceship had
already sent out another lethal
volley, and it fries your crew
member alive. Deep thumps
reverberate throughout your
space-faring vessel as you fire a
barrage of missiles.

Your mission, FTL: Faster
Than Light, was assigned to
you via Steam and Good Old
Games for PC and Mac. It

utilizes two-dimensional sprite-
: encounter another vessel that’ll
: try to pillage your big hulk
: of metal. Confronting your

based graphics to portray your
crewmen and ships. All control
in your commanding chair
is done with a simple, single
button on the mouse, so you
can't blame the controls for your
own failures.

Within the game, you

: can take. It also shows how close
: the Rebel Fleet is to catching up
: toyou. Then, by engaging your

: engine, you travel to one of the

: nodes and a random encounter
: will show on the screen. You, as
? commander, must tell the crew
: what to do in each occurrence.

: Beware, for your choices will

: either help your crew survive, or
: doom them.

Commonly, you will

adversary, you don’t directly

: control your ship. Instead,

: the two layouts of your ship

: and your opponent’s ship are
: placed side by side and show

: ship explodes as climatically as

: a supernova. If the ship looks

: like it’s doomed, it probably is,

: and there’s not much you can

: do about it. There are no second
: chances in this mission. If your

: ship is destroyed, it’s gone for

: good. No reloads.

That is why we need a

? commander who doesn’t mind

: many hours of frustration

: mixed within a lot of fun; a

: commander who loves thrilling

: battles in space, a commander

: who wants to bring peace to the
: galaxy itself. So, if you would

: accept this mission, choose the

: second star to the right and play
: straight until the morning.

arts // 7

 

By www.megasad.com

Comic Corner:

Super Homeys are
super offensive

Brittney MacDonald
Senior Columnist

OO

» ‘Empowered Vol. l' review

mpowered employs a very manga-influenced aesthetic

to tell the story of Emp, a female superhero who’s just a
little less than super. The stylization in the art and unique
approach to the common superhero narrative provide an
interesting premise, but it comes too late as the episodic
and mundane sexual humour of the earlier pages presents
a near impossible barrier to overcome for female readers.

Created wholly by Adam Warren, the series began
as several commissioned pieces. He later built on the
character he developed, and slowly Empowered took form.
This unusual conception is evident in the earlier pages,
which seem disassociated from one another and rely on
gutter humour to entertain the reader.

If you move past all that, an actual plot does take
form. Empowered follows its titular character, a member of
the “Super Homeys,” as she often finds her powers failing
her, putting her at the mercy of all sorts of villains—
including her later love interest, Thugboy.

The novel also pokes fun at many aspects of superhero
culture, such as “What is a spandex-clad heroine to
do about panty lines?” and what life is like for the evil
minions of all those madmen and geniuses.

Artistically, Warren is very different. Empowered is not
inked at all, setting it apart from traditional comic books.
The pages are well-laid out, and all the shading is done by
hand in greyscale. The character designs are diverse in that
they incorporate many different body types, not just the
perfect feminine or masculine ideal.

Despite enjoying the later portion of the graphic
novel, it does not make up for the earlier pages, which is
why I can’t recommend this book to anyone.