It’s commonly thought that space is infinite, being that it has no beginning and no end, it simply goes on forever. Space simulation X3- Reunion comes closer than any other game before it not just in the sense of accurately depicting and what the future might holds, but the also in capturing it’s endlessness in what seems to be an endless game!
X3 is an open world (or open universe?) space simulator in which you can play a number of roles depending on how you want to approach the game. For instance you could become a trader, going between galaxies buying produce for cheap in one sector and selling it for a profit in another. Or you could become a pirate, arming your spaceship with the most high tech weaponry and making your money by attacking trade ships and selling them off on the black market.
You aren’t stuffed into a corridor and forced to play the game in any certain way. This allows for some of the most amazing open ended stories simply because outside of missions, nothing is scripted. Of course you want a more organized story you can take up tasks for the various factions that inhabit the universe, from the Earth born Argon or the reptilian race Teladi. Each faction has their own set of diplomatic relations with each other, which can make for some cinematic fights when two military units from rival factions entire the same space.
These missions can consist of simple pick up missions in which you must either retrieve a lost spaceship or take a high profile VIP from one sector to another while keeping him alive to harder tasks such as defeating a fleet of enemies in combat. It would be fair to say that X3: Reunion is a massive game to say the least and it’s learning curve is just as big. X3 is an extremely hard game to get into, so if you’’re looking for some cheap thrills this will certainly not be your cup of tea. However if your willing to learn and take the tough learning curve you’ll be rewarded with an engrossing experience that you’ll not soon forget.
To properly make your way through the early part of your X3 life, you’ll almost certainly need to watch videos and read tutorials on the ins and outs of the game. Of course if you’ve played any of the other X games you’ll be right at home but if you’re a newcomer it would pay dividends to read up a little before you jump into the universe.
As far as games go, X3 is one of the largest and most rewarding out there and for that I give it 4.5 our of 5.