The action is fast-paced and actually almost makes one nostalgic for the old classic top-down online shooter Subspace, and while there’s a catch in that any currency and items gained in the arena battle are removed once the round is over, players can get a nice experience bonus for their main character any time a round is won. This provides some nice incentive to not only engage in arena combat whenever possible, but to stick it out until the end.

While the arena-style combat and main character-building phases are the only two gameplay elements I’ve been able to explore in-depth so far in Armada Online, there’s promise of a lot more content coming on the horizon as the game continues development. Already the graphics look polished with some gorgeous special effects, and the controls and interface feel pretty tight for such an early product. There does seem to be a slightly awkward level of ‘response lag’ when issuing commands to move your ship – some of the forum comments seem to indicate this may be intentional, but let’s hope it’s smoothed out a bit in future builds.

Even though Armada Online presently doesn’t offer too much beyond the basic trading, weapons creation, grinding, and combat, the game’s history and gameplay pacing give the developers a strong leg to stand on. The game can easily be run on just about any kind of computer thanks to the low system requirements, and stands to offer enough compelling gameplay to make for an addictive experience. We'll be sure to keep an eye on it as it continues its development.

Editor’s Note: Anybody who wants to jump right into the open alpha can do so at Armada Online's Website.