8.2 /10 1 Votes
8/10 IGN Initial release date 25 November 2004 Mode Single-player video game Publishers 1C Company, Cinemaware | 8.1/10 GameSpot 84% Metacritic Developer Elemental Games Platform Microsoft Windows | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Distributor(s) AU: Red Ant Enterprises
NA: Trymedia Genres Interactive fiction, Real-time strategy Similar 1C Company games, Space flight simulators, Other games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Space Rangers 2: Dominators (Russian: Космические рейнджеры 2: Доминаторы), released in North America with the subtitle Rise of the Dominators, is a multi-genre science fiction computer game developed by Elemental Games for Windows and first published in 2004 by 1C Company. The player takes the role of a spaceship pilot, and may explore, trade, engage in space and ground based combat, and undertake various types of missions. Space Rangers 2 is the sequel to the 2002 computer game Space Rangers.
Contents
Setting
Space Rangers 2 is set in the year 3300. Sentient combat robots known as Dominators are attacking the five civilizations of the Coalition: the humans, the Maloqs, the Pelengs, the Faeyans, and the Gaalians. There are three Dominator types, each at war with each other: the Blazeroids, the Kelleroids, and the Terronoids. The player begins the game as a trainee member of the Space Rangers – a corps of pilots charged with defending the galaxy from the Dominators. Squirrels also can attack and kill you in the game after the year 3320.
Gameplay
Space Rangers 2 combines multiple gameplay modes. Space travel takes place in a third-person perspective turn-based 2D engine. The game also includes a 3D real-time strategy engine for planetary battles, with the option to control units within the RTS engine to play the battles as third-person shooters. The game also features an arcade shoot 'em up mode, and text-based missions that include interactive fiction and logic puzzle elements. The player character can gain experience points and improve skills, and the player character's ship can be upgraded as the player earns more cash. Sources of income for the player character include trading, piracy, completing missions for various factions, mining, and deploying research probes.
Reception
Space Rangers 2 attracted mainly positive reviews from the gaming media. Many reviewers noted its extreme open-endedness, the variety of its mini-games, and its off-beat style. Criticisms centered on its perceived lack of polish, the uneven quality of its various mini-games, and the poor quality of the English translations.
It has a metacritic score of 84 (out of 100).
Publishing history
Space Rangers 2 was originally published in Russia by 1C Company in November 2004. In June 2005, Excalibur Publishing released a DVD version that included both Space Rangers 2 and its prequel, Space Rangers. Australian distributor Red Ant Enterprises released a CD-ROM version (Space Rangers 2 only) in 2005. In March 2006, Cinemaware Marquee released a CD-ROM version subtitled Rise of the Dominators in North America. Space Rangers 2 is also distributed electronically via Trymedia and TotalGaming.net. It was also added to Good Old Games on February 3, 2011, and updated to include the Expansion free on June 6, 2012. The Good Old Games version, however, has since been removed from sale on September 2012.
Expansion Packs
An expansion pack called Space Rangers 2: Reboot has been released as a download from Stardock. The European retail version also includes the original Space Rangers, along with a combined version of Space Rangers 2 and the expansion pack.
The Russian version of the game also has Space rangers 2: Revolution an informal Non-commercial addition (addon) to game Space Rangers 2: Reboot. New fighting maps, arcade, planetary, new text quests, set of governmental tasks and non-standard situations are added. A test-build of Space Rangers 2: Revolution (English) is also available.
A new official version Space Rangers HD: A War Apart has been released, it now includes all expanded content from the Reboot expansion pack as well as new content with newly updated HD graphics.