X3: Reunion

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 307 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 195 out of 307
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 307
  3. Negative: 89 out of 307
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  1. PeteNA
    Nov 15, 2009
    7
    For overall clarity of understanding the game rates a bit low. It's not that it's impossible, nor is it even complicated. Rating a game based on how complicated it is is just silly. If you can't understand it, it doesn't mean someone else can't. Chess is complicated for many people. That doesn't make it a bad game. No, what I mean by "clarity of For overall clarity of understanding the game rates a bit low. It's not that it's impossible, nor is it even complicated. Rating a game based on how complicated it is is just silly. If you can't understand it, it doesn't mean someone else can't. Chess is complicated for many people. That doesn't make it a bad game. No, what I mean by "clarity of understanding" is simply how well the game explains it's complications. For instance it's a bit tricky to navigate your way through certain menu options. At times it's a bit like shopping at Lowe's hardware. Certain items simply are not the aisles you would expect them to be in. The same seems true at times with X3: Reunion. I spotted a review from a user giving this game a zero (0) rating simply because the controls "could not be reconfigured to invert the mouse X axis." I'm sure Glen looked for that option, and probably didn't find it, but it does in fact exist in the game. The problem is the way the menus are broken down it's not under the heading most gamers would look for. For game play itself, the actual flow of the game and the abilities of the player to immerse themselves in the universe of X3, I'd say the game is impeccable. During play there is a sense of really being there. And when reality becomes suspended I personally feel "if only it could really happen!" Now that is suspension of disbelief! Another downfall of this game, and it can be a major one, is the tricky messaging system. Some messages that one would feel are key are left out of the message log. Now, most players will complain about this, and even I find it annoying as I have been spoiled by games like "Fallout 3" and "Oblivion" as well as others that keep very detailed "quest logs" The thing is us old school gamers should know better! We should be keeping notes on important quest details! (I'm 42 myself and I've been gaming since ZORK was a baby!) In fact I think the designers did this intentionally. No, not to make some of us moan and whine. I think they did it to make us THINK. You remember when gaming took thinking if you're older than 25. If you're younger than 25, I apologize, but yes at one point we actually did have to think to play computer games. We had to take notes by hand on paper with pens in order to remember what important things NPCs had said, or what details we had read in some note or on a sign. Other than the fact that this game has some glitchiness with the quest system at times (for instance your quest targets simply not being there when you get there and n o explanation then or later as t to why!) it really is worth the money you pay to play it. Speaking of which, I see a review by a man claiming to have pirated this software to try it. You know, I'm probably not the only member of law enforcement who reads these boards. Fortunately for you I'm just a local patrolman. Finally, in parting, let me say this: Reviewing a game you haven't even done more than play an hour of is not really a fair rating. Please keep in mind that when you read individual's reviews. Many of the people who rated this game on this page simply got frustrated within a few minutes or hours because they couldn't understand the game. That is not reviewing. That is ranting. And while some of those rants may help people, at least try to be fair. Granted, it may save gamers with low tolerance for thinking from buying this game.… Expand
  2. DaddyZee
    Nov 4, 2005
    7
    This game is nothing short of incredible in terms of graphics, gameplay and did I mention graphics? BUT it has starforce... which has basically screwed up me using my cd-rom drive. Because it uses StarForce, i deducted 4 points from it's total score. StarForce only punishes legitimate owners! >:-( (and makes us very angry)
  3. Quirc
    Dec 10, 2006
    7
    After playing this game for only a couple days (I haven't gotten too far along in many aspects, merely enough to test the waters) I believe it's definitely worthy of a decent score, though not a 10. One could live with a bit more adrenaline, and a dedicated tutorial definitely needs to be implemented. Let's face it, many gamers don't bother to check websites or play After playing this game for only a couple days (I haven't gotten too far along in many aspects, merely enough to test the waters) I believe it's definitely worthy of a decent score, though not a 10. One could live with a bit more adrenaline, and a dedicated tutorial definitely needs to be implemented. Let's face it, many gamers don't bother to check websites or play previous games in a series; in addition, many casual gamers would be immediately frustrated upon attempting to learn the controls of X3. However, if one can get past the non-existent interface intro, and the (somewhat realistic in my opinion) fact that you won't be in combat most of the time, the game is worthy of at least grabbing the demo on. If you're a fan of both space sims and other open games such as Oblivion, this is definitely a game for you!… Expand
  4. JMoles
    Jan 27, 2006
    7
    It's a good game if you can get past the steep learning curve and you are lucky enough to have no graphical/system compatability problems If like me you played X2 its easy to work out the game, however if your new and want a game that give you no challenge or is a "lets shoot everything is sight" game then buy something else, however if you have an imagination and want to be a It's a good game if you can get past the steep learning curve and you are lucky enough to have no graphical/system compatability problems If like me you played X2 its easy to work out the game, however if your new and want a game that give you no challenge or is a "lets shoot everything is sight" game then buy something else, however if you have an imagination and want to be a multibillionaire and rule the universe this is you game.… Expand
  5. StaikoP.
    Feb 28, 2006
    7
    Having finished the game I would really like to congratulate Egosoft for the idea and partial development of the game. Beautiful and some time unbelievable graphics, nice music rapped up with average sound effects (especially for EAX owners) and a fair amount of lovely gameplay are what this game is all about. However, its premature release and very high requirements in personal life-time Having finished the game I would really like to congratulate Egosoft for the idea and partial development of the game. Beautiful and some time unbelievable graphics, nice music rapped up with average sound effects (especially for EAX owners) and a fair amount of lovely gameplay are what this game is all about. However, its premature release and very high requirements in personal life-time and system components surely effect this game very negativley. Having finished it however (the missions) my feelings were generally positive. Must buy for space fans ET lovers andwith people with much time to spare!… Expand
  6. NickM.
    Jul 23, 2006
    7
    Great game, absolutly worth it for the Steam price. If you're looking to purchase, keep in mind that this game is targeted for a specific audience. If you like 3D space shooters and very user driven gameplay then this game will suite you. However, if you like to be carried along in a story or have waypoints lead you everywhere this game might be a little too deep for you. Performance Great game, absolutly worth it for the Steam price. If you're looking to purchase, keep in mind that this game is targeted for a specific audience. If you like 3D space shooters and very user driven gameplay then this game will suite you. However, if you like to be carried along in a story or have waypoints lead you everywhere this game might be a little too deep for you. Performance wise I have not had a problem. If your computer can run games such as Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Prey and full or good settings you shoudn't have any trouble at all. My friend however is having problems getting his Radeon graphics card and this game. The framerate is less than average and he has to run the game at 1024x768 for it to be playable. Suppose it's the universe's way of telling you all to buy NVidia.… Expand
  7. GrahamB.
    Dec 12, 2005
    5
    I've got a pretty good new system. 4800+ (overclocked by 10% using N.O.S) 2x Winfast 7800GT Extreme cards, (both pre-overclocked) 1.5 gig ram, Audigy 4, Spinfast 120 harddrives (brand new).. The game plays (with 2 patches). ...just ! But... The story gets confused after about chapter 6 if you go back to your base the wrong way (as well as many other "shopwstoppers" apparently - but I've got a pretty good new system. 4800+ (overclocked by 10% using N.O.S) 2x Winfast 7800GT Extreme cards, (both pre-overclocked) 1.5 gig ram, Audigy 4, Spinfast 120 harddrives (brand new).. The game plays (with 2 patches). ...just ! But... The story gets confused after about chapter 6 if you go back to your base the wrong way (as well as many other "shopwstoppers" apparently - but this is the one that's bugged me. Economy makes no sense..buy from chock full factories at very low price, go to sector where factory is stopped because they don't have the commodity you have bought - go to sell it to them and make a loss !!!! Where's the supply/demand structure in that ??? Graphics STUNNING , don't care what people say, messes all over Eve (BIG time) BUT Get into a battle and frame rate (on my 2 week old rig) drops to 4 or 5 (yes tried every trick in the book to get it working - options / Mobo / Rivatuner / Tweaks / "unnoficial" patches to lower pedestrian traffic etc - still need Deep Blue to get the flipping thing shifting. Really feels like a BETA. I want this game to work, go on make it work, i'm sure it'll be worth it .......… Expand
  8. DustinR
    Feb 24, 2008
    5
    I did a fair amount of research trying to find a post-Freelancer "modern" Space Sim... ended up choosing X3: Reunion. After playing, or trying to play, for several days on end, I've pretty much given up on it. Instead of writing pages upon pages going into minute details on how I feel about it, I'll summarize it with a quick Pros/Cons list: Pros: Decent/good graphics, I did a fair amount of research trying to find a post-Freelancer "modern" Space Sim... ended up choosing X3: Reunion. After playing, or trying to play, for several days on end, I've pretty much given up on it. Instead of writing pages upon pages going into minute details on how I feel about it, I'll summarize it with a quick Pros/Cons list: Pros: Decent/good graphics, inexpensive (I purchased it for $19.95 via Steam), X-Universe seems large and like it would take a lot of time to explore it all. Cons: Stability (even with the latest drivers, clean system, and every other game I owe working fine, this game just wouldn't stay running longer than an hour or so. Crashes weren't consistent, sometimes minutes into a game, sometimes an hour, sometimes when docked, sometimes when engaging a hostile. But, one thing was for certain, they are a game-killing element.), boring (the possibilities for open-ended gameplay seemed great, but I actually found myself bored many times, just trying to find work and/or hostiles to engage; when I did rarely run into hostiles, they were almost always equipped much better than my ship, and quickly out-gunned me. The large systems which at first seemed promising, instead ended up being a chore to traverse, taking what seemed like forever), controls (the interface is much more complicated than say Freelancer... at first this seemed useful since honestly, Freelancer is somewhat lacking on depth of interface/controls, but ended up being too complicated... too many keys to remember), camera/view (again, perhaps swayed by my previous experience with Freelancer and other Space Sims, really was looking for a "dynamic" third-person view of my ship... can switch to external view, and manually rotate the camera POV via the number pad, but a "turret view" where the mouse would freely rotate the camera would be much more appreciated.), cheesy voice acting. Overall, the stability problems I encountered (and couldn't resolve), along with the over-complication of some game elements, and lack of more practical features, ended up making this a disappointing purchase. Its sad that there just doesn't seem to be a truly modern Elite/Privateer Space Sim that delivers.… Expand
  9. Twelvefield
    Feb 27, 2006
    6
    Do you like to read? How about reading a lot of murky science-fiction-based manuals and procedure lists? If so, X3 is the game for you. If you don't like to read, you're going to get frustrated in a hurry with X3. The learning curve is steep, thanks to a convoluted user interface in the game, but also thanks to the X-Universe, which is largely persistent from the games ofDo you like to read? How about reading a lot of murky science-fiction-based manuals and procedure lists? If so, X3 is the game for you. If you don't like to read, you're going to get frustrated in a hurry with X3. The learning curve is steep, thanks to a convoluted user interface in the game, but also thanks to the X-Universe, which is largely persistent from the games of which X3 is the sequel. The X-Universe is more or less a compilation of every sci-fi cliche since Star Wars, but re-written so that most of the important nouns have made-up words, like cahoona and mazura. Trying to figure out the economy of the game, where you are trying to figure out if a SQUASH mine factory needs energy cells can be frustrating, unless you do your reading. There's a manual that comes with the game, and a revised manual that was published on-line, and you'll need to read both. Then, there's the patches for the game, which do help a lot, but which also require some research to apply.
    The complete saving grace of X3 is the on-line forum at Egosoft, where many friendly people are willing to answer all sorts of questions on X3 gameplay, and some of them are talented modders who make X3 gameplay a more enjoyable experience. But, be prepared to spend more time reading than playing if you join that forum.
    Lastly, there's even an X-universe novel, translated from German of the "Leelee heaved her three alien bosoms inside her space-bodice, thinking deeply that she needed revenge for the death of her father at the hands of the Evil Overlord" variety (note that this isn't an actual bit from the book text, but to me, it seems to be a lot along those lines), which could be read to gain more backstory on the X3 game.

    As it goes, X3, like many games these days, has way more backstory than actual plot. There is a plot in the game, but it's as loose as the elastic on your grandfather's underwear, and the character acting and models that propel said plot are about as amateur as any you can find outside of an elementary school. Good thing that you can abandon the plot at will, and that the spaceship and space effects are really nicely done.
    X3 is woth picking up for cheap (if you can even find it on the game store shelves), provided you have the patience to do your reasearch and your patching -- the patches are as large as the Egosoft patch server is slow. In some ways, it's more of a challenge -- and a thrill -- to get X3 up and running on your computer than it is to actually play the game, but once you get it going, there's many things you can try out in the game. It's as open-ended as a video game can get where you are the only person in the whole galaxy with free will.    … Expand
  10. MarionH.
    Jan 26, 2006
    5
    5 for potential - 3 for the game as it is. I got the 1.3 patch, now the game starts on my main PC. Funnily enough ran on my laptop (Pentium IV 3.6 Ghz but just a Mobility Radeon 9700 with 256Mbyte video ram) reasonably well. Wanted nothing to do with any of my other systems, I have 4 systems above minimum spec for this game and perhaps 30 computers or bits of computers in all. The laptop 5 for potential - 3 for the game as it is. I got the 1.3 patch, now the game starts on my main PC. Funnily enough ran on my laptop (Pentium IV 3.6 Ghz but just a Mobility Radeon 9700 with 256Mbyte video ram) reasonably well. Wanted nothing to do with any of my other systems, I have 4 systems above minimum spec for this game and perhaps 30 computers or bits of computers in all. The laptop was the only one that produced playable framerates (FRAPS average 27 at minimum settings). My AMD 3700+ with 2x 6800 GT (SLI) was so poor even the menu stuttered all over the place. And before some smart pants says - Yes ,.. I know about keeping DX up to date Can easily handle CODEC management Can flip around a BIOS and understand every setting, Use current patches Can install graphics drivers without leaving old DLL's everywhere. Can disable features with Coolbits/ATI Tweak Knows how to turn off other services to preserve CPU time etc etc etc So PLEASE don't just suggest these (or the 101 other things I've tried) It's the game - not me Having said that some people have no issues with this game. MANY knowledgeable / experienced / computer users simply can't get the game to function at all. Try the new rolling demo before you buy to see what camp your in! Because the game seems worth it if it works.… Expand
  11. AndrewS
    Oct 28, 2007
    5
    I have logged over 150 hours of gameplay. (over a very long time, i do have a life) This is coming from an experienced player, one who loved the game to almost its full extent. I found that this game had so much potential, but the complexity of the interface is what did it to me. Just trying to remotely outfit one freighter so you can let it go off on its own and try to make you some moneyI have logged over 150 hours of gameplay. (over a very long time, i do have a life) This is coming from an experienced player, one who loved the game to almost its full extent. I found that this game had so much potential, but the complexity of the interface is what did it to me. Just trying to remotely outfit one freighter so you can let it go off on its own and try to make you some money while you're out fighting is a daunting task all on its own. The learning curve for the game itself is very steep, and even a basic movie tutorial to go over the controls and basic concepts of the X3 universe would have helped many. the game is beautifully made, and the graphics are outstanding, but it's how you play the game, and how long you have to play the game to get anywhere that's the problem. each and every menu item has at least two ways to get to it. if you want to go to your personal file and change the name of your pilot or something, you spend half an hour rummaging in different menus, just to find the "Pilot" icon and realize that it was the other "Pilot" Icon three pages ago that you needed. everything has you running in circles. For the next x: game that comes out, i strongly suggest that the interface be completely reconstructed to allow for a much simpler menu system, and remote control system for governing your fleet. there is so much potential in this game that remains untapped it is freaking rediculous. i'm not sure what the developpers were thinking when they put this on the shelves. it took me 120 hours to realize that if i was in the same sector as one of my other ships, i could remotely fly it around and do everything in that ship from the safety of my own. Another problem is the amount of time required to get any experience with the races in the game. there were many a night where i had to leave the computer running with 10 laser towers in each sector just to get enough rep to be able to buy a new ship. I still don't have enough experience and race's sectors are the only place i fly in now. If there is going to be another x game, and i'm sure there will be, it'll have to be seriously re-designed to allow for its many functions to be simplistic and user friendly. (wow that last part sounds like i'm writing a microsoft review)… Expand
  12. GolovA
    Jan 13, 2012
    7
    Played the first Xpansion. Played this one and enjoyed it. Takes time to learn things and especially to get anywhere in the game. This game also prefers specific players - the ones that enjoy slow pace, slow development, and ... space! :)

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Best PC Game of 2005
10
#10 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005
25
#25 Most Shared PC Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 4 out of 32
  1. AceGamez
    100
    By far the most engrossing game released so far this millennium.
  2. GameZone
    90
    The eye candy will lure you in, the gameplay will keep you intrigued and the free-roaming feel will keep you occupied for hours. X3 – Reunion takes the X franchise to new heights.
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  3. Boomtown
    80
    X3 is a great game, but if Egosoft grasped the challenge and offered immersion of the type seen in "Freelancer" and similar ship handling, combined with its own beautiful and complex universe, then we might finally have a game that deserves to called the new "Elite."
    Read full review
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