An intriguing effort to bring classic PC gaming to the iOS platform. Players take the role of a starship pilot moving through various star systems. With the help of an AI co-pilot, making a name and fortune is the goal – in open space there is the chance to ferry cargo, guard massive convoys from pirate attacks or even turn criminal. Then, when docked at space stations, one can engage in bidding wars, take on new assignments and upgrade the ship. The obvious parallel would be EVE, the space-capitalism MMORPG. But players are going to hit a brick wall very early on in Rogue Star. Though the moment-to-moment gameplay is easy to learn and the user interface works well, there are major problems with the progression system. earning enough to buy even the first ship upgrade is a long, tedious grind as most jobs pay very little and all potential income from cargo and missions vanishes on death. One-on-one dogfights are fair challenges but far more common – and far more deadly – are two-versus-one attacks on the player. The developers have promised to fix some of these issuesin future updates, but until then Rogue Star is a brave attempt but too much of a chore to be fun.
