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Space sims have always been a fairly tight niche market. Only recently game developers have been trying to persuade some of the mainstream gaming community to get involved in space sim games. This is usually accomplished by infusing different elements from other gaming types into the space sim environment. Allegiance was a game that successfully fused real-time strategy with a space sim. The result was a very satisfying game that could be enjoyed by strategy gamers and space sim players alike. Terminus is another game that attempts to melt together a space sim with other gaming styles in hopes of garnering a larger audience. Billed as an epic space combat RPG, Terminus manages to combine RPG and action elements with a hardcore space sim. The end result is a game that has varying degrees of depth and difficulty depending on how you choose to play it.

Probably the most notable thing about Terminus is the variety of game modes available for the novice or seasoned player. If you include the training sequences and multi player, there are five possible game modes in Terminus. Training consists of five missions that introduce you to the basic elements of flying the ships, selecting weapons, choosing assignments, and general navigation. Once you have graduated from training school, it’s time to try out the real stuff. If you’re an action hungry type of gamer, you might want to jump right into the Gauntlet mode which is basically a quick action mode that doesn’t involve dragging you along with a story line or even mission assignments. In Gauntlet, the primary objective is to survive as long as possible without getting killed. This portion of the game plays somewhat like an arcade space sim. There isn’t much thinking to do, just fly your ship and fight back at the enemies who seem to always have superior maneuvering abilities than you. Quake fans will definitely find themselves at home with the Gauntlet mode. Depending on the difficulty settings you have chosen, Gauntlet can offer some of the most challenging gameplay you have ever seen in a space sim, perhaps even in any type of game. Fortunately there is a cruiser you can use for docking and repairing if you have the time to pull out of a dogfight long enough to accomplish docking your ship.

For players who want a little more cognitive type of game, but not overly mentally fatiguing, you can choose to play in free mode. Free mode lets you choose your own career where you will begin with a standard ship and fight or trade your way into a high-end occupation. The objective in free mode is to let the player roam the galaxy in pursuit of contracts to carry out, bounties to be collected, and items to be traded with other non-player characters in the solar system. Free mode is an interesting way to play Terminus, because it consists of an endless array of specific mission assignments but has no ending. In other words, you can play free mode just like the story portion of Terminus without having the game come to an end. Potentially, you could play nothing but free mode for a few months and become an intergalactic badass, calling the shots to whatever AI opponent wanted to come up against you. In regard to longevity of gameplay, free mode lets you play until you are truly sick of playing. For some that’s going to come pretty quick, while others will be into it up to their necks and loving every minute of it.