Five races inhabit the Enosta Galaxy, all united against one common enemy. They don’t fight for domination or resources, but for their own survival and that of the galaxy. In Tarr Chronicles you play as a fighter pilot belonging to an elite squad (the Omega) living aboard the Talestra, an Alliance Forces battleship. Some sort of galactic cataclysm entitled Mirk is advancing and consuming everything it touches. The solution to stopping it lies in a series of ancient artifacts created by an extinct race, the Ozzah.
The story begins as the Talestra’s hyperdrive breaks down in a remote star system. What you know is that there are several artifacts in this area, other factions looking for them and that you need to make your way back “home”.
Tarr Chronicles is a space combat sim, much like DarkStar One. The gameplay is mission-based, with the story spanning across nine main missions. They revolve around scouting for enemies, escorting other ships through dangerous territories, clearing asteroid fields and defending outposts. In between missions you get your briefing via a cutscene, which reveals more storyline and tells you what goals you must complete. It’s during these intermissions that you have the chance to modify your ship as well. It’s fairly linear, but each mission is also packed with smaller sub-quests that can get you going for quite a while.
There is plenty of story to be discovered, but there is even more space fighting and action. Combat is pretty intense, and fortunately you are not alone. There are three other A.I. pilots on your side, and they’re not all that bad either.
Defeating enemies rewards you with resources, which are used to customize your fighter and unlock new technology. The customization system is very in-depth and detailed, and you can use new parts to modify anything from the wings to the engines, hull and weapons. There is an automated option for doing this, but you will want to fiddle with it just because of the possibilities. But you have to keep a close eye on your ship’s energy and weight at all times, they are the most important for performance.
Furthermore, you are also able to create your own weapons in a workshop. Although there are plenty of weapon options, you can only use one at any given time, and you must keep in mind that you have limited ammunition – something I didn’t have to worry about in DarkStar One.
Graphically, Tarr Chronicles is vibrant and colorful. The environments have distinct areas and they perfectly convey the great sense of outer space vastness. Although it may not be too polished or advanced, the graphics draw you right into the Tarr universe, and even structures like space stations or other ships are worth admiring too. As are the explosions, smoke trails and weapon effects during combat.
The sound isn’t too shabby either, with the epic musical score contrasting with the frequent radio transmissions, which greatly adds to the mood. However, the voice acting was lacking.
Simplistic gameplay, detailed customization system, great story and plenty of action sum it up for this game. It may not be innovative, but Tarr Chronicles has plenty to keep fans of space combat happy.
Special thanks to Ted Brockwood and CDV for providing a copy of this title.