Inspired by a cult classic, Space Pirates vs Zombies is a highly engaging space sim with a lot of replay value.
For those of you young enough to remember playing Star Control II, it is enough to say that Space Pirates vs Zombies brings back the nostalgic feel of that very same space sim and brings the genre back to life, updated with so many more perks that you wished were there in the 10 or more years that it lay dormant.
Even though they don’t say it, SPAZ is an obvious tribute to Star Control II. It’s “that” game that the two devs are referring to.
Space Pirates vs Zombies is developed by a duo of indie developers that couldn’t seem to find a game much like they had wanted to play, so they decided to build one for themselves.
You play the role of space pirates commanding the Clockwork, an almost self-reliant starship that can build its own fleet of ships and defend itself from the authorities. Your missions consist mostly of mining for the generic “Rez” element to build anything while fighting different galactic factions — yes including the zombies, a product of an experiment-gone-wrong by one of your officers let loose when your old ship crash landed into an asteroid.
In Star Control fashion, the game plays top down, where you get to maneuver your ships using your mouse and keyboard. Both mouse buttons are used for weapons. Unlike in Star Control where alliances with each race gives you access to different types of ships, SPAZ forces you to grind for enemy black boxes found by destroying ships. Once you destroy a ship and acquire a black box, the Clockwork reverse engineers the blueprints of the hull you destroyed. Ships are classified into size classes where the differences lie in how many weapon and upgrade ports are made available for each ship. Some ships may move fast but can only carry missles while others move slowly but can carry forward and rear turrets.
As you gather resources and build ships through missions within chapters, your ultimate goal is to span through the galaxy across all warp gates and defeat the evil space shambling menace.
Space Pirates vs Zombies is a must have title for its creativity, price and replay value. There’s a lot of grinding here, but what space sim wouldn’t be complete without it.
[LINK] It’s USD $14.99 on Steam.