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O.R.B.

Score: 8.0 / 10

O.R.B. (Off-world Resource Base) is the kind of game that divides gamers. Strategy buffs tired of invoking the harvest/build/attack cycle may find solace in its elegant fusion of space exploration and real-time strategy. Proponents of Starcraft's clickfest style will deem it slow and anticlimatic. Others (like me) will wonder why the hell we have come to associate real-time strategy with blistering micromanagement, causing brilliantly subtle titles like this to be overlooked.  

It plunges you into the midst of a holy war between two space-faring clans: the aggressive Malus and the pensive Alyssians. At the cultural centre of each race lies the Torumin, a biblical text written 2500 years ago by the godlike Aldar. It's the interpretation of the Torumin that leads to disaster: the Alyssians believe the Torumin's message points to the search for intelligent life while the Malus interpret their destiny as the Aldar’s sole inheritors of the galaxy. All bets are off when these characters meet for the first time.

Similar to Homeworld, O.R.B. is a "3D" real-time strategy game set in the vastness of deep space. Instead of a conventional topographical map, the action takes place in a fully three dimensional environment with the usual eye-in-the-sky perspective swapped for a floating camera which can be positioned anywhere.

 

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Given the difficulties of orchestrating battles in three dimensions, O.R.B.'s interface is impressively slick. Floating icons and glowing menus are the order of the day and like any good interface, exudes a polished, solid feel. Those prone to vertigo may prefer to play from the automap which presents everything in a 2D overhead view. It reads like a radar display: red blips for enemies, blue blips for your ships, grey for unidentified objects.

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And if it all gets too overwhelming, you can pause the action to issue orders a la Dungeon Siege. Fortunately the units are fairly intelligent and can fight pretty well without assistance. All that's left is to sit back and watch the battles unfold, or better still, lock the camera behind one of your squadrons of fighter craft. This is great fun as you can literally watch the enemy explode right before your eyes.

Visuals are beautifully drawn with space's star-studded velvet sprinkled with red and blue phospherence, nebular wisps and the occasional comet. Sublime background music consists of solemn choral chants with orchestral decoration, swelling to a grand symphonic blast during battles. Ship designs remain fairly unimaginative but it's no big loss.

Resources are obtained not by harvesting conveniently-placed caches, but by mining asteroids. Not all asteroids contain minerals and must be scanned first by a recon vessel. If minerals are present, a mine is established, producing Manpower that can be channelled towards Research or used as crew for your ships. Thus, a successful balance between Resources, Manpower and Research becomes crucial to victory.

But don't expect the tactical juggling of conventional RTS economical management. The three-dimensional nature of the "map", combined with its sheer size, puts a slower spin on the established harvest/build/attack routine. Thus, foraging for resources is more akin to deep-space exploration and since few asteroids actually contain minerals, there can be long pauses as you wait for your recon vessel to strike it lucky.  

Uncomfortable pauses: here's where O.R.B. loses favour. LAN-cafe addicts will balk at the moments where nothing is happening, where the pulsing blip of your recon vessel is the only sound in space. Even the technology tree takes a mundane approach, allowing you to simply increase the potency of weapon systems, shields, propulsion and so forth. There are no special abilities to be researched, no Psionic Storm or Yamato Gun.

But similar to chess, O.R.B.'s ponderous pace remains an inherent characteristic, not a flaw. If Warcraft 3 is a tactical blitz, O.R.B. is the slower, relaxed alternative. It's a seldom-traveled path: a game of patience, development and, lest we forget, strategy.

- Justin Liew

(December 16, 2002)

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