From the developers of the Dreamcast multiplayer classic Armada comes what was originally intended to be the game’s ‘true’ form: Armada Online. The story behind this series is a little depressing - it was originally intended to be a huge multiplayer-focused title, but setbacks on Sega’s online service forced most of this functionality to be cut. The end result however was still surprisingly attractive for its time, and the free-form, non-linear RPG-based isometric gameplay experience provided was openly welcomed by those who played it. Also salvaged from the game’s originally-planned multiplayer components was an addictive hot-seat mode where up to four players could work together to cut a swath across the galaxy, though reading through the interviews and articles created over the ensuing years makes it obvious that the game was mostly a pale shadow of its originally-intended self.

Now the game is back with a vengeance, and out of nowhere a studio with the original developers onboard has re-acquired the rights to the game and are now developing Armada Online in the shape of their original intentions. Relocated to the PC platform, the developers now have a lot more freedom and latitude to accomplish their goals, though currently the game is in an open alpha-test to get the initial kinks out of the way. It didn’t take much playtime with the alpha to see that the game has a great deal of potential, and with the right touch may end up leaving quite a mark on the space-RPG genre for those nostalgic for games like Earth & Beyond and wanting something other than EVE-Online to play in today’s online market.

The game is split up between two major factions; the United Systems, and the Nomad Empire. Each offers their share of varied classes to pick from: the Nomad Empire tends to rely on more exotic and sneaky forms of attack, while the United Systems fight using more conventional means, and their ships often have strong support abilities. Picking a race and starting the game will then spawn you on a friendly planetary surface. This actually counts as a sort of ‘home base’ for all players, and by flying around, you can interact with various buildings and spend cash to upgrade your ship and skills.

Of course, this early in the game you’ll most likely be flat broke, so this is where the game will branch off in interesting directions for new players. Most of the game is based around a standard-fare open-ended universe, where players can band into groups and warp around from system to system, mining for resources (to make weapons with), interacting with NPCs for quests, exploring, and killing stuff to gain experience. At this stage of the game, the open-ended segments are relatively incomplete, and most of the quests and content isn’t quite in place yet. Still, there’s a good deal to see and do, and one can really get a feel for what they have planned for the game.

Warping into a given system opens up a variety of sectors to fly to – some must be flown to manually, while others might be linked by a nearby wormhole to help ensure faster travel. Littered throughout each system are numerous stars and planets, and while for now they help to keep the terrain interesting, I do hope the development team has plans to make these locales interactive to add more depth to the gameplay.

Apart from exploring and advancing in the main universe, Armada Online also provides a cool secondary draw in the form of the “Neutral Zone”. This is an action-packed round-based arena, where the two factions square off against one another in team-based combat. The objective is to complete a specific list of missions provided to each team and annihilate the opposition’s starbase, but spicing things up a bit is an influx of NPC traffic.

Ships belonging to the “Armada” (the major alien threat in the universe) will spawn at certain points on the map, and destroying them will not only net you influence (which can be used to purchase temporary upgrades for the duration of the match), but destroying their ‘brain’ motherships will spawn a crystal, which a friendly NPC ship will attempt to fly out to and build a station on. If successfully built, the station will then provide additional benefits to the team, such as spawning stronger NPC combat vessels to patrol around your team’s borders.