Tachyon: The Fringe is simply the best space combat game I have ever played. The graphics and sound effects are still up there with games currently being released, even though Tachyon came on to the market almost 8 years ago, and the storyline is one of depth and quality.
The story begins with your lovable character, Jake Logan, as a mercenary space pilot working for Advanced Ganymede Techlologies. Through an unfortunate chain of events he is arrested and exiled to The Fringe of colonised space. There he is caught up in a war between mega-corporation GalSpan and mining colonists Bora, and must fight to earn his right to clear his name and return home. The twists and turns of the plot will keep you hooked throughout.
The game is layed back and open, with you deciding what missions you fly and when. Some missions will earn you lots of cash, depending on the importance and the dangers of the objectives, some not so much. One of the best aspects is the wide range of weapons and hardware available to customise your ship with. The ships themselves all have distinguishing features, some are better suited to certain missions. There's plenty to do when your not blasting space pirates or taking part in a massive fleet battle, such as listening to the Tachyon News Service, or playing the slot machines in a huge casino space station. The game never gets boring.
The graphics are stunning considering when the game was released. Beautiful nebulae and asteroid fields, plenty of big explosions, and huge awe-inspiring space stations and capital ships. The laser and missile effects are decent, maybe could have been better, but they do the job. The fighter craft are excellent, each looking futuristic and distinctive, perfect for this game. Sound effects and voice overs make the game come alive, with Bruce Campbell at the centre. The sound is not brilliant in places, but overall is very good, and accompanies the graphics well. The script is superb and very humorous in places, and makes you want to get to know and care about Jake Logan. Other supporting characters such as the evil Baron Hajod add to the depth and excitement of the game.
I do have a few minor reservations, the main one being the speed of the ships. You get the feeling that the ships you pilot are sluggish, and the game lacks pace and adrenaline in areas because of this. And as I mentioned before some of the weapons effects are mediocre.
Do not in any way let this put you off though. Tachyon is a masterpiece that was way ahead of it's time, and never received the credit it deserved. Big games designers should definitely consider reviving Tachyon using modern game designing technology, as there is definitely a market for this genre, the problem being no decent games of this type created since Tachyon itself. With the creases smoothed over Tachyon could be an epic.
