One of the hardest things to find in gaming, is a good space flight simulator. Every now and again a game will fly its way under the radar only to slip into our memories. Now the Swedish video game developer Paradox is jumping into the fight with their new space flight sim Dark Horizon. A new game that reaches out to hit a few every sci-fi cliches without going over board. Yet even with a few bumps along the way, Dark Horizons is a flight sim that might surprise those looking for a game that can fill a flight sim void.

When I am playing a space sim, it takes me more then a few minutes to know if I like it or not. I can't just go in, zip around and give an honest opinion. I have to play it for a while before I know what I'm doing or if I even like what I'm doing. This was definitely the case with Dark Horizon. I had a rough time in the starting moments but I stuck to the game and after learning how to play the game I really had a great time. The overall dialogue of the story was a little over written and over acted. The story is filled with too much proprietary terminology to follow and it really seems like the story picks up from a starting point that's too deep for a new player. So I didn't pay much mind to the story, I just waited for the objectives. This was a good decision for me since the game is pretty engaging, even if the story wasn't.
It's always temping to just jump right into the cockpit of a game like this and start racking up kills but this is a simulator. So you need to take a few minutes to get acclimated with the ship. For players of flight sims, the ships setup screen is where the game really comes to life.  It's only too bad that Dark Horizon's ship setup has a major problem. The ships setup is well done but you can only get to the hanger after a mission. You don't have the option to jump into the hanger during a mission so if your current configuration doesn't work well, you can't reconfigure your ship without replaying the previous mission. The lack of reconfiguring really hurt my perspective of the game. Now while in battle, you can't just focus on the enemies in front of you. The ship always needs your attention. If you push the ship too hard your ship will over heat, so you need to constantly adjust the temperature of the ship. Its like driving your car but you need to press a button to tell your radiator when to turn on. This technique isn't just to remind you that this is a flight sim, it can be used to help you get around. If you cool down your ship too much you will enter a shadow mode where other ships have a hard time targeting you. If there was a multiplayer mode in the game this function would be perfect. Unfortunately this is currently no online functionality. This doesn't hurt the overall game but it would of been a nice touch.
It's not hard to put this game down. It doesn't have flashy gimmicks or ties to a movie or comic book franchise like most space sims but what it lacks in flash it makes up for in good game play. Dark Horizon might not change the space sim genre but it doesn't do anything too bad to hurt it ether. This is simply a well playing fight sim but it could use some new location and better sound. This is why Dark Horizon receives a 7 out of 10.