Game of the week: Moon Base Alpha
September 12, 2011
Pros: The text to speech
Cons: Lack of game play, glitchy, outdated graphics, trolls.
Rating: 1/5 stars
One would think that a space game made by NASA would be at least interesting; unfortunately this is not really the case with Moonbase alpha. Moonbase Alpha is a free download off of Steam.
Moonbase Alpha is an online game where a player and others online must save the first Lunar base after a freak accident, which is never really clarified. Using every tool in an astronaut’s arsenal, players must fix the failing life support system before time runs out.
Moonbase Alpha truly is a disappointment when it comes to games.
A game about being an astronaut on the first base on the moon has a lot of potential, especially considering it was made by NASA. In this case, it really did not pull through.
The first glaring issue to this game is the lack of game play. Every game takes place in the same spot and the problems that need to be fixed are always the same. There is no diversity in game play.
The second biggest issue is that the game is immensely “glitchy,” which only makes the game more frustrating, because the lagging takes valuable seconds off the clock.
The graphics are also disappointing since it looks like this game was made about two or three years ago. Granted this is a free game so one should not expect something matching the quality of “Halo” when playing.
Finally and what might possibly be the biggest issue has nothing to do with the game itself, but is more of a byproduct of the already horrible system that is in place. That would be trolls. A troll is someone that generally goes on the internet and messes with people for their own amusement. Moonbase Alpha has become a haven for trolls. The only way around this issue if you are there is to troll yourself, only then does the game get interesting.
Although there are many issues with this game, there is one aspect that personally brings me a lot of enjoyment, which would be the “Text to Speech” option.
This option allows players to have any text they have written to be spoken in the Microsoft Sam voice.
Because of this, certain phrase and words sound hilarious. As minor as this may sound, for many people who play this game that is the only saving grace it has because it can provide a decent amount of entertainment.
Overall, this game is very disappointing. The only reason someone would want to get this game is so that they could troll, mess around on the moon and enjoy the hilarity the “Text to Speech” produces. Other than this the game really is not worth the time.