Space Crew Review (PlayStation 4)

The sequel to the Steam chart-topping WW2 management simulator, Bomber Crew! Space Crew is the brand new strategic simulation game, boldly taking you where no one has gone before!

Pros:

• Decent graphics.
• 1.34GB download size.
• Platinum trophy.
• Two new games–standard and new game without tutorials.
• Six save slots.
• 3 difficulties-casual, challenging, and panic stations.
• Tagging mode-automatic, semi-automatic, and classic (manual).
• Slow time setting-off, classic or unlimited.
• Man management gameplay.
• Star Trek themed in all but name.
• Game-command a crew of people to take on tasks, fire guns, fly and repair or whatever pops up in your space adventure.
• Can adjust settings in-game.
• Brief opening tutorial mission.
• Large UI button.
• Invert axis and sensitivity sliders.
• Full camera control and you can move around the ship or out of the ship.
• How to play section for reference.
• End of level breakdown on performance and team exp earned and credits.
• Humor throughout.
• As you give orders to crewmates time will slow down.
• Quick crew selection list.
• Play how you want in terms of how to approach each mission.
• Mission details will show rewards and mission risk.
• Power consumption is a juggling act as you need a lot of power to do hyper jumps but doing so will make shields and guns inactive.
• Power-you can manually adjust how much or how little power to use for-shields, engines, weapons, and gravity.
• Slow and fast forward time buttons.
• Hyper jump allows faster travel, using it will take most or all your power but it will return it to how it was once out of hyperjump.
• Once you put the crew into roles they will autoplay allowing you to watch and make changes.
• Humor throughout.
• Uses its own muffled language.
• Your crew will talk and give out status updates.
• Athena-main base where you can choose missions and manage your crew. Landing there is easy and just a case of tagging it.
• Crew-you can customize them individually for body, skin, hairstyle, hair color, facial hair, facial hair color, eyes, eye color, and name.
• Loot-gear can be rewarded and applied to any or all of the crew, each piece of gear will have stats or buffs attached to them.
• Loadouts-presets and custom with real-time stat numbers to show changes.
• Four types of equipment on the ship-space suits, fire extinguishers, phaser rifles, and medkits.
• Ship disasters can happen like fires and engine failures. Generally, anyone can deal with them but engineers do it faster.
• Combat-space combat where you use the ship’s guns but aliens can also come aboard and you have to use phase rifles.
• Can Revive and heal crew members.
• Piloting mode- patrol, waypoint, attack and defend.
• The view will change to highlight any call to action.
• The game helps with the heavy lifting quite a bit such as putting things away once done, the tagging system, the way the Ai will auto do jobs and commands.
• Research points–earned from missions and used to buy ship upgrades.
• Good soundtrack.
• Easter eggs and references to many classic Sci-fi franchises.
• Spacecraft hangar-customize and upgrade your ship parts for armor, systems, weapons, engines, escape pods, equipment and livery. You can also rename your ship.
• Livery-in-depth editor with options aplenty like base paint, design, 7 livery slots with a catalog of designs, main text, and extra text.
• Mission tracker top right to help with guidance.

Cons:

• A lot to take in.
• Controls take a lot of getting used to as it’s a lot of holds this and press that simultaneously.
• Slow-paced.
• Costs credits to just equip items.
• The crew gear menu is very busy and hard to read and understand.
• Takes a while to get used to all the mechanics and icons.
• The tagging system is very sensitive and it’s easy to tag the wrong thing.
• Managing the camera is a pain.
• Difficulty spikes.
• Has a thing where if left unattended the camera will start panning around and has no way of turning that feature off.
• Never sure it saved.
• Can’t do anything when in hyperjump.
• On boot up continue the game isn’t the first option.