X3: Terran Conflict PC
  • Publisher: Atari
  • Release Date: Mar 31, 2009
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 166 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 131 out of 166
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 166
  3. Negative: 23 out of 166

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  1. MrButtermancer
    Mar 26, 2011
    10
    Alright, the learning curve in this game is vertical. If you're going to buy it, understand that. Understand that you're going to have to learn hotkeys. Understand that you're going to be looking in the manual for a good few hours to figure everything out. But understand that it's worth it. X3 TC is an absolutely fantastic, beautiful, and immersive game. The sheer size of the thing is something along the magnitude of 8 million cubic kilometers spread throughout several hundred sectors. There are varied races each with many unique starships. The economic and combat aspects of this game are spectacular. Trading goods and building factories is immensely satisfying. The music and art makes the entire experience that much more epic. If you're willing to spend the time getting to know her, X3 can take you for one heck of a ride.… Expand
  2. colintheys
    Dec 27, 2010
    3
    Alright. I love sim games. I love complicated, thoughtfully-paced strategy games. But this is ridiculous. I've played for hours and have achieved precisely nothing. You start the game with an AGONIZINGLY slow ship. I tried three different start scenarios, hoping it was just the one situation. It wasn't. There's a feature that lets you accelerate the game to 600%, which approximates the speed that I would like it to run at normally, but even so, you can literally select the closest object, turn on autopilot and time acceleration, go make and eat lunch, and return to find that you're still not there. Playing this game would be a full time job. I don't know who thought "waiting to get places" would be fun, but it isn't. And making "patrol system" a repeated objective when that basically means sit still and wait until something happens isn't fun either. Least fun I've had playing a game in recent memory. If I want the space sim feeling, I'll just go replay EV: Nova.… Expand
  3. I_Am_Turok
    May 22, 2012
    6
    I really want to love this game. Having a decent 2012 PC, the graphics are so smooth and great, music great, open ended, huge universe, endless side-tasks, fun battles, and a trading system - so far, what's not to like - but niggles that begin early on become more apparent after 80+ hours of play. With my 10+ freight and 15+ combat ships, I should be having all the fun in the world, but things are becoming a drag. Ships still crash into docks and get destroyed. Auto-trading is too slow that it takes hours to bring in cash. Manual trading is repetitive. With 15+ combat craft in a wing, you can win pretty much anything. And the UI feels like it was written by a Unix developer who hates UIs and likes lists of old. For example, look up who builds say a missile, and it'll give you a list of 30+ sectors alphabetised scrolled down - errr, how about simply pointing out on the universe map which are the closest sectors to me that sell the missiles, I'm not memorising every sector name!!???? At this stage, I am playing the main task/quest, if only to finish the game, which will probably take another 80+ hours of play! It's still very much worth the buy for $15 or less, either this or the generally cheaper X3 Albion Prelude which looks identical. You will enjoy the whole feel and really getting into the universe. I know I do and will probably pick it up for 2 hours of play a week for the next year. That's gotta make it good value for how much I spent on it. But for me, I'd struggle to give it more than a 6 because of how slow it is to get anything done. (to the developers, what if, for the next game, you start with a station, and resource collectors and your own sector, then build up stations and fleets, and either dominate trade by killing off competitors, or dominate the universe by conquering sectors - with those beautiful graphics and combat play, now that would be a fun game indeed).… Collapse
  4. PCforever
    Mar 17, 2011
    1
    As somebody who thoroughly loved X3: Reunion, simply because to me a game is pointless without a main story, I was thoroughly disappointed in Terran Conflict.

    It's basically a boring, money making space simulator with tiny little pathetic single player "storylines" thrown in that you can complete in under an hour. A disgusting and pathetic letdown after the awesome epic storyline of     X3:Reunion where you play as Julian Brennan in a movie like storyline.

    I am so disappointed with this plotless garbage and it will be the last thing I ever again buy from Egosoft.    … Expand
  5. TruckarJ
    Mar 7, 2009
    3
    While I enjoy slow and thoughtful gameplay X3 only provides an agonizing single player grinding experience with no real challenge to beat at the end of that grind. Add to this a combat system that doesn't really require a player, a user interface that will leave you wondering where the information you want is located, and frame rate drops that will leave even the best systems presenting you with one to two frames a second and you have a fairly joyless space simulator. I would recommend thinking carefully before purchasing this game.… Expand
  6. DavidN.
    Sep 13, 2009
    0
    I got this game because I have heard nothing but kick-ass enjoyment. I was thrilled when the game finished downloading. I started the game, about 10 minutes later I died and I had to redo EVERYTHING I did. Thought this was rather interesting and tried it again. 2 hours later, I die again. Fine, I see I have to wait 20 minutes to dock to save my game, or else I have to restart all over. Fine, I will try a trader. Thanks for no credits to spend to buy stuff with.. making it a grueling task. (This is suppose to be a FUN game, not work.) Thanks for making travel in this game unbelievably boring. Thanks for wasting my 50 dollars. /uninstalls X3: Terran Conflict… Expand
  7. Devslilhelper
    Nov 6, 2010
    3
    OK listen, I came in new to the "X universe" and i KNEW there would be a learning curve after reading reviews. The learning curve however really isnt that steep at all if you have a brain... flight controls come pretty smoothly after some adjustment and its not hard to dock/buy/sell/switch ships/ etc. especially with freaking auto pilot to do everything. Now im only like four hours into game play here and I know on a game like this where it is so massive thats just scratching the surface but honestly the thing I notice the most and like the least about the game that no one else seems to mention is how SLOW it is! I mean my god you get a mission to go somewhere right? so you target the star gate, move to full speed in your starter ship and it takes like 5 minutes to get there! Nothing eventful happens in flying time so far you just sit there and fly in straight line to your target, go through, and fly to your next far off target thats going to take you a solid 5 minutes to get to at least. I started watching TV during these flying times there so long and so far honestly the TV holds my attention more where I end up just saving and exiting the game to watch TV! Another negative aspect to this game is you can ONLY save when docked. Well, if you have to leave the computer in a hurry you CANNOT save because it takes, again, 5 mins or so to get to the star port and dock and save. So all in all this game was a major disappointment for me, I was really looking forward to a challenging space sim but this is more a retard-paced flight simulator...… Expand
  8. finky45
    Mar 19, 2011
    4
    I don't normally take the time to write reviews but I feel it's necessary to give a fair warning for those who might think about buying this game. First of all yes the game does have a steep learning curve because of the lack of a proper tutorial. There is a mission to get you started but its hardly adequate.
    My issues with this game in a nutshell are: lack of saving feature in space (unle    ss you buy/rebuy this thing called insurance) and tons of bugs bugs bugs bugs. This will make you very angry time and time again after spending 15 minutes of your real life trying to do something in the game only to die or fail because of a game bug, such as your own ships being attacked for no reason by the police, or being run over by your own ship when you're out in a space suit, or being given impossible missions that fail before you even reach the mission area or whatever. I found a new bug every day and you will find that you need to get accustomed to the game bugs and treat them like they are part of the game. The game is also very slow. This isn't a game you sit down and play for 1 hour. You need to dedicate at least 2 or more per session if you want to enjoy the game, at least what is enjoyable. The user interface although not terrible, it shows a lack of planning and cohesiveness. Options are not where you would expect them to be and sometimes hard to find.
    Another big problem is the inability to adjust mouse sensitivity. In the game it's a lot lower than what you would use in Windows. Since you will be using the mouse most of the time this will bother you. You can use a joystick but I found that using the mouse is by far a better way to play and be more accurate with guns.

    It's really sad that after making the same game for the 3rd time Egosoft still hasn't fixed some bugs which should never be in a video game, and hasn't added features that should have been there, like an option to allow you to save in space which is a major problem. It's also sad that this game looks so good yet plays so bad. It feels like it's more of a tech demo than anything else. Egosoft, properly named, is egotistical. They think they know what a good game is. They also would probably use an excuse like they lack funding and that is why they did not include these fixes. However they spent plenty of money on DRM to ensure you do not pirate their crappy game and get suckered into buying it like me. Once bought you can't return and they made their money so the game served its purpose and made them their bucks.

    My advice is if you really want to try this game, you should buy it used. That way you can satisfy your curiosity, see how crappy it is after you punch your keyboard and break your computer because of the endless frustration this game gives you and then not feel bad about supporting the lazy workers at Egosoft.

    Don't listen to the fanboys that are on here. I have played the other installments of this game and it is the same game. Why buy it? Do you want to support a company that just re-releases the same product with minor improvements? They're milking their community. They let the modders do the hard work of fixing the game for them for free. It's quite lame. Egosoft is LAME and I think I gave them enough money by mistake.    … Expand
  9. Lorderan
    May 13, 2011
    4
    Yep I tried this game, again and again and again. There are some really awesome aspects. Massive universe, incredibly diverse numbers of ships and ways of playing the game. But I'm done, there are just too many painful and annoying things with the game. NUMBER 1 is the inability to save in space. You have to fly to a base and save. No big deal, but it is when you've just spent 15 minutes flying to the mission location and you die you want to scream. I mean really what is the logic in forcing people to dock to save. It doesn't contribute to the game, other than being a royal pain in the arse, THERE IS NO POINT. Secondly, but maybe as big a problem as the first is the flight time. The sectors are bloody huge, say 400 km, but your ship flies at 100 m/s (fastest ship I had was 260m/s), so to fly from one side of the sector to the other it will take you 400,000 m / 100 m/s = 4,000 seconds or wait for it 66 minutes, you can increase time by 10 but that still means it will take you 6 minutes to fly through 1 section. When a mission makes you fly through 5 sectors to get to the mission site the time painful!! I mean serious WHY do that to your players, there is no reason you would do that. I just give up. Fro the new X Rebirth release, have an option for the fan boys if they want these stupid features in the game, but give the rest of us a bloody break. DO NOT waste your money on this game.… Expand
  10. DanielP
    Jan 10, 2009
    5
    Don't believe the hype. For those of us, well some of us, who have played X3:Reunion with the Xtended Mod, the only main difference your ever going to notice in Terran Conflict is the story. It comes to no suprise that alot of the team that worked on Xtended was brought over by Egosoft to work on Terran Conflict. The game itself is rather much the same when it comes to complexity, and thats not a bad thing. If you got the patience for it, and the motive to keep at it then your going to enjoy Terran. However, Terran Conflict is, Reunion. Only reason why you should get this is due to the story and we all want the story to end at some point, but I truly believe this is where Egosoft got it wrong. X3-TC gives off a rather rushed appeal, like it was rushed. They didn't have to do much when it came to content, Xtended did that, but storywise and yet the still very un-appealing poor voice-actors, could've been much improved beyond Reunions standards. If your very much interested in finding out the next chapter in TC, get this game! It has the same pro's and same con's as Reunion with Xtended, with exception to a few minor details. However, if you have Reunion and you have the Xtended mod to boot, and your not too pushed about finding out what happens in the next chapter, then don't bother. You'l find yourself playing a clone-copy of Reunion with Xtended.… Expand
  11. ArcticLynx
    Jan 17, 2009
    5
    The learning curve on this game is far too great, with a manual that barely does the game justice and almost no ingame assistance to speak of. This forces the player to attempt to remember huge amounts of information, or to ferret around in a variety of menus searching for it. The interface is difficult to use, and doesn't appear to have matured in the ten years since the first game's release. Also the developers have seemingly avoided numerous shortcuts and simplifications that would make the life of the player easier. For example, most of the menu screens are lacking mouse buttons, forcing the player to bounce between to many intermediary screens using the keyboard. Unless attention to detail, micromanagement and a passion for space trading games, rule your life, then leave this one on the shelf.… Expand
  12. JamesM
    Feb 8, 2009
    5
    This game easily gets a 9 with me but the DRM makes me hate it. They count hardware upgrades as separate installations, even if you never touch the data on the hard drive, and you'll run out of activations. Then you have to guess at what to do until you stumble across an email address on the Tages website. They don't even have live operators either, you email them and wait. So pay good money, enjoy the game, but never upgrade and hope and pray nothing ever goes wrong with your installation. Egosoft and Tages do not even seem to have any sort of relationship as their FAQs and support material both say to talk to the other one. No other Steam game requires me to activate like this. In fact, Windows is the only piece of software I own that does. That's pretty sad for a company like Egosoft. Bad bad decision.. fire the person responsible for that one because you've lost good business from a loyal customer.… Expand
  13. MikeT.
    Oct 23, 2008
    6
    To all of the reviewers that gave this a 10... If you are willing to give a game with this many bugs and balance issues a 10 I say you are either a paid company shill, or an Uberfanboy. I on the other hand are neither. This is my first game in the X series. My real problem is this, yes you can play however you, but when you reach a specific pilot rating, being the fighter pilot becomes more or less unplayable. To explain there are non plot missions littered throughout the galaxy some trading, some taxi, some station construction, and some combat. As you increase in pilot levels the combat missions become more and more difficult, not difficult as in L2PN00B sort of situations, but difficult as in the game spawns in numbers that you cannot possibly deal with unless you bring lots of support "wings" It basically makes you not be the hotshot fighter pilot that I'm sure many of us would like to be. Other problems I had with X3 Terran Conflict: On the subject of wings, they are near impossible to control effectively without a lot of practice. The living economy never seems to have anything resembling a weapon or shields in stock. And another gamebreaker is that as the game progresses your performance will degrade, you see the game keeps churning out new ships and not enough of them die off so (near as the forums can tell) your processor begins to get hosed by all of the extra ships in the universe. Don't be fooled though, there is a great game here, just waiting to be patched up and have it's balance fixed. Egosoft has a wonderful track record for that, so I say just wait about a month and then pick up this title, you shouldn't be disappointed.… Expand
  14. RobN
    Oct 1, 2009
    10
    Easily one of the best space simulation games out there. Deep and complicated but only as much as you want it to be. You are able to play through the story as you see fit, while engaging in literally whatever you want to do. Fight pirates, be a pirate, fight everybody, be at peace, build a trading empire or a war fleet. This game is ridiculous. The learning curve, well worth it. User made scripts and mods from the incredibly dedicated community (al-la Tribes 2) exists for this game and creating all sorts of new content from new ships/weapons/technologies/software/AI and god knows what else. Egosoft is making an online version of this game. That is insane and I can't wait to play the **** out of it. Get into it.… Expand
  15. AlexV
    Jan 27, 2009
    6
    I played X2 and actually think that was better for it's time. They've tried to improve the interface and I think the flying and the less regular distribution of gates are good additions, but the new menu system works no better than the old really in that it still takes a lot of accurate clicks to do anything (remotely). The economy functions better (but still not that great though). Like the the last I thought it was a bit too much like hard work (grind basically) though others may think differently.… Expand
  16. BigA
    Mar 17, 2009
    1
    The gameplay is terrible. It keeps losing your ships. It loses missions. Sometimes it refuses to accept commands and goes into a loop. Some of the scenarios start you off without weapons and make you prey to pirates, even though the trainer waits for you to shoot! Etc. Enough said.
  17. OldSchoolGamer
    Sep 3, 2009
    9
    This game is not for the feint of heart, casual players, people with inferior PCs, or people who do not own a reasonable HOTAS setup (if you have to ask what that is, don't even think about the X series, go play Eve Online). That said, X3: Terran Conflict does one thing and does it well: it delivers a deep, engrossing, twitch-based space simulation with no rival or competition. Owners of a nice system who enjoy combat designed for joysticks will quickly find themselves sucked in to a single player experience that can be enjoyed for years. I'm writing this based on version 2.1; the bugs that hampered earlier versions have been squashed, additional content has been added (for free), and the kinks have been worked out of the system. If you have any interest at all in creating your own galactic empire through combat and trading, you owe it to yourself to play this game.… Expand
  18. GaryL
    Nov 25, 2009
    5
    This game is OKAY. I bought it about a week ago.. and i cant seem to get the hang of it. The graphics are pretty old, not to good but good enough. The game play is slow. Very slow. And there seems to be a lot of bugs with my "up to date" game. My autopilot has killed me several times. Honestly, as some people have said, its a good game, but it depends on who you are. For me, it sucks and i REALLY wish i could get my money back. Eve online was much better, like a 10 better.… Expand
  19. SJT-Ruler*
    Feb 11, 2009
    0
    This is really a pathetic game. At first, I thought it would be great, perhaps a nice space simulator. Guess what, it's really a big fail. The gameplay is boring, it can literally take minutes sometimes to fly to something with nothing to do in between, boring slow-flying in space... everyone's dream, right? First of all, the tutorial is superbly flawed and makes not much sense, as are the controls. Second of all, a part in the tutorial keeps crashing, meaning I cannot get further into the game. Enough said, if this is to be called a game, they should make it work properly FIRST.… Expand
  20. JasonM
    May 15, 2009
    2
    Way, way, way too slow... It was like Eve Online, except even slower paced... Its interface and controls were clumsy and not very intuitive... A shame really, as I was interested in what this game had to offer; too bad they decided to deliver the gameplay via root canal... There is no reason that time-lapse could not be increased and remain in effect the whole time... Why did they have to make docking suck a long and drawn out affair... Throw some smoke and mirrors in there, lie to me, or at least let me opt out of this laborious task... Can I have my money back?… Expand
  21. ParGellen
    May 25, 2011
    6
    This game is great fun and the combat is pretty intense. The main problems I see are the issues with stations and complex hubs. The AI is usually pretty good at avoiding collisions with other objects but sometimes stations (even ones placed by the AI) are facing in bizarre directions that cause docking ships to smash into asteroids or even other stations. Setting up your own complex hub is kind of a nightmare since you can't really see what's going on very well while you are doing it. A simple separate interface allowing you to place and rotate stations would have been great but is sadly missing. I always find myself enjoying the game until it comes to setting up my own stations and hubs then it gets very annoying very fast. Also the overly complicated menu system has you clicking submenus quite deeply for even simple tasks with no way that I can find to create hotkeys that take you directly where you want to be. One last bad thing is the voice acting. OH MY GOD! Where did they find these people that can't pronounce ANYTHING correctly? I had to reload and listen to a few Terran mission briefings simply because I could not understand what the guy was saying. A couple of them I just gave up on understanding because I swear he's not speaking English at all.
    Other than these issues I've had a lot of fun playing and fighting cap ship battles with the Xenon.    … Expand
  22. Lazerius
    May 9, 2012
    10
    Amazing game. Action Packed, beautiful graphics. Just be aware that this is not a game you can pick up and master in a few hours. Played right, this game can aborb the next few months to years of your life.
  23. sometimesgames
    Nov 9, 2011
    9
    If you want easy, mindless fun in your games, then you will have to adjust your perspective for this game because it is HARD. What's that? You think you know hard? You don't know X3:TC, son, so buckle up before you double click. Still here? Good because I still have to say this: I came into this game expecting nothing, I hadn't even heard of the X universe or even played a game like this ever before and yes, like all beginners I spent most of my time pouring over spreadsheets and guides, tearing out my hair and yelling at my computer yet I loved every single damn infuriating minute of it! It's all about how much you put in to this game. You won't be done in 8 hours, you likely won't be done in 80, either. The more you give this game, the more it gives you and when combined with beautiful scenery, awesome music and engaging combat, it becomes a game worth committing to. Sadly, the few bugs and more irksome aspects of the game coupled with poor voice acting prevent me from giving it a solid 10, but don't let that dissuade you, it is definitely a game that tries, and excels, at being what it sets out to be.… Expand
  24. DEUSZOHAR
    Nov 27, 2011
    10
    Well, it's not perfect,yes,but still the best one of the universe sim games. At the very first, it's really hard, because it's too free to play. you can do anything you want-----so you found hard to choose what to do... so i recommend you play the story mode first, DO NOT try free play at the very first.
    After you really know this game,free play will be the best choice
  25. BlackbirdSR71
    Jan 6, 2012
    10
    Best simulation and strategy game until now. First it is difficult to manage but it's worth to spend a time until you pass it. I truly recomend the game!!
  26. khemeher
    Jul 24, 2012
    9
    If you enjoy flying spaceships, and you relish the idea of being able to forge your own military & financial empire in space in a single player format game, then this game is for you. If you're patient, and willing to take the time to learn how to play, and willing to work your way up through the ranks to earn your fame, then this game is for you. If you want instant gratification, and expect space combat to be Call of Duty in a **** then you need to find another game to play. It's pretty much that simple.

    It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn clean & neat with the recent patches & revisions. You will also find a staggering amount of add-ons created by both forum moderators & community that add even more to your experience.

    Additionally, if you have a Steam account, you owe it to yourself to invest 10 bucks in the X Superbox. If space simulators are your cup of tea, you simply won't get a better bang for your buck anywhere else.    … Expand
  27. oda_krell
    Jul 21, 2012
    9
    X3 is a great game, and it is a bit sad it is not more well known. It is not perfect, and I will say why in a moment, but the way it is now, it is one of the best sandbox-style games in existence. It is also easily on par with the previous gold standard of the genre, the Elite series. ............................................................ Others have said enough about the strengths and the problems of this game already: it has a steep learning curve, and it lacks a tutorial and in-game documentation. That said, this problem is not on the level of a really hardcore game, say, Dwarf Fortress. After about 1 day playing, you will "get" X3, and you will start experimenting. Once you do that, you will be rewarded with a vast universe, and very complex game mechanics, which, in addition, feel "meaningful", i.e. the complexity doesn't just arise from millions of numbers you need to control, but from a living and breathing universe. If you enjoy space games like Elite or Privateer, and sandbox games like Minecraft, I'm sure you will love X3. It's a brilliant combination of combat and **** ............................................................ Sounds great, right ? But that's not even taking into account the modding scene behind this game. This already very complex, very deep mechanics of this game become even bigger and better when you add some mods. There are whole modding projects adding dynamic wars and changing borders to the universe, as well as streamlining the trading interface and station building. This game would be very good without mods, but *with* mods, it's almost perfect.

    ............................................................ I said, "almost perfect". So, what are the problems? There are really only two: production value and interface. The game is made by a German developer, and it saddens me to say that (being German myself) but the writing isn't very good, the characters you encoutner feel bland, and the whole ingame lore is, just, meh. Compare it to the big franchises, Star Trek, Star Wars, Warhammer 40k, or even Homeworld, and I have to say, this universe feels just... cheaper, let's say. That's not my biggest problem, though (mainly because this is a sandbox game in large parts -- nobody ever complained about the quality of writing in Minecraft). The biggest problem is the UI. The interface is one that is made for a space combat simulator. However, as the game progresses, it gets more complex, and space combat, while still important, is not the only thing you do. You basically become the CEO or president of a galaxy spanning empire, maybe comparable to EVE online. But the interface still never leaves the **** of your ship. Every action needs way too many clicks, and while there are some mods that make the interface a bit better for some of the more complex tasks (space station building, managing you network of traders), the game doesn't really allow for this to be done efficiently. If there's ever an X4 (and I really hope there will be), the game should offer two modes: space combat, when you're in your ship, and "planning room", where you have all the consoles, display, graphs and maps you need to run an empire. The way it looks now, it's just not efficient enough, and it gets a bit tedious as your empire grows.

    ............................................................ Summary: Almost perfect game, half space combat sim, half empire building/sandbox. Very complex, but not stupidly so -- the complexity feels causally motivated. The only real problem is the interface: for a game so complex, the **** interface is just too limited. 9 out of 10.    … Expand
  28. Hardcard
    Sep 8, 2012
    9
    I don't understand how anyone can rate this game below 8.
    I've played a lot of space sims, I've spent massive time in getting to know (and mastering) each and every one of them.
    This one has given me something that I wasn't even expecting to find: a depth so deep that I don't think there's anything you can't do in this game. This game can take you from a "miserable" starting position (on    ly one small, nearly useless ship and no money. Like a poor strayed dog left to the immensity of space), to the top of your own built space corporation, managing huge merchant and military fleets, farms, factories, supply stations, and nearly anything else you set your mind to.
    The most important thing is that every step you take in order to achieve this, you're taking it on your own. This game gives you freedom in every action (or transaction), there are no preset fleets or businesses, there is no preset campaign or anything like that: you do as you please, you build what you want to.
    If you are looking for some kind of easygoing space sim, you'll definitely try some other game (Sins of a Solar Empire, Freespace 2 (upgraded), Nexus, Homeworld...)
    You could also play X3 in a simple pirate style (hit-take-sell), but by doing so you'd miss 80% of the stuff X3 offers (and eventually you'd get bored and quit the game too).
    In X3 you are whatever you want to be: a smuggler, a bounty hunter, a handyman, a pirate, a businessman, or all of these together.
    But don't be fooled by visions of power, wealth and glory, to achieve these you must work hard, study the market, think and be very patient. It takes a huge amount of mistakes, failures, learning, observation, travel and money to build your own military and commercial empire. Take it easy and prepare to spend a massive amount of hours in traveling, dogfighting, trading, planning, upgrading, exploring, etc.

    I don't give it a 10 because I find the interface rather undeveloped. They should improve the command and information systems, make them easier to access, make them more intuitive. They should also fix some AI issues like the autopilot crashing into gates and buildings sometimes or like own ships disappearing after being commanded to dock, etc. Were these problems arranged, X3 would be a true masterpiece, a game like no other.    … Expand
  29. DevinD
    Oct 30, 2008
    10
    Not all video games are supposed to be easy to control. If people only rate off of an hours worth of playing then of course the controls will dictate initial standing. The x series is phenominal because once you can adjust with the controls of the game and become part of it/ because being a space pilot shouldn't be easy anyways, then the scenery falls into place and you feel as if your there. X3 Terran Conflict will push the extremes for futuristic space flight for years to come! Keep it up Egosoft as your dedication will pay off for those who truely desire a space encounter of the third kind. p.s I would like to recomend for future X3's or if you push to X4 that you can control the individual like Free Lancer, as the twist of your expertise in visual graphics and to add the adventure to roam and salvage and maybe even gun fight on space stations would be BADASS. thankyou for your time -Out-.… Expand
  30. GH
    Nov 1, 2008
    9
    So far I am impressed by X3 Terran Conflict. Whilst it has some slight performance issues at the moment which, going by Egosots past performance, will be addressed sooner rather than later, it comes across as a welcome update of X3 reunion. It is now far easier to find missions, and there is a far greater variety to choose from. For the first time, combat has become a true money earner, making life more interesting for those less interested in the trade side of things. As far as looks go, the game, whilst using the same engine, looks even better than before. As far as the actual combat is concerned, I would be hard pressed to point out any specific improvements or changes to the flight model, yet combat feels a lot more fluid and intense than it previously did. Capital ships now seem to represent a major challenge to fighters, smashing them from space with all the eficiency of a fly swatter. There is still a lot for me to see and experience in TC, and I have not yet ventured into the story plot, but from my experiences so far, this game represents a positive step foward from X3:reunion. If you have time, and a bit of patience, then this game is a fantastic example of an open ended space opera. The only real downside is for those with iether limited play time, or the attention span of the console generation. This is a grand example of the type of expansive, mature and intensive games which the PC is great for.… Expand
  31. JustinS.
    Oct 16, 2008
    10
    Many of the 'professional' reviews will tell you - Terran Conflict is really only good for die-hard series fans - Well that's just not true! Terran Conflict has made some excellent progress from its predecessor, Reunion, in that aspect. It has a full tutorial system, and is much more open from the get-go. All in all - This is the best iteration in the series yet. It's just too bad this is the finale.… Expand
  32. ElijsD.
    Oct 19, 2008
    10
    Gamestar's review is absolutely nonsense - they reviewed this game as if it were an FPS.. Look at this as the sucessful Freelancer, the real folow-up to the Elite, and review it as such!
  33. ScottG.
    Oct 20, 2008
    10
    People tend to review this game and the rest of it's series by how steep the learning curve is and how accessible it is. Sure, if you've never played an X game, you will be confused at first. However, games should not be VERY accessible. That just makes them boring within two weeks. Egosoft can claim victory in this sense considering most of the people who took the time to learn the game have been playing it for YEARS rather than a two weeks or so like all of the other Space Sims out there. Good job, Egosoft for another great iteration of the series.… Expand
  34. JoséA
    Oct 2, 2009
    9
    Great game it the best game of the space. Very goods: ships, stations,battles, beauthiful images, simples manoeuvres, must thinking don't shot anytime, easy buy and sell produts, THE BEST
  35. Telcontar
    Oct 8, 2009
    8
    The space sim is not dead, thankfully. This game has a great deal to offer for players who don't mind a slower pace (though the battles are plenty fast). Also, as with all flight sims, you'll want a joystick to really make it work - trying to dogfight with keyboard/mouse is just a drag.
  36. indriajj
    May 7, 2009
    10
    I really love this game++ the graphic is excellent ++ and the gameplay have more improvement in many sector ++ this is the when the first time i learned abount pronounce in English (i am from indonesia) now i speak fluency in English.
  37. TomN.
    Oct 17, 2008
    10
    If you're looking at the review and wondering whether or not to go for it - do it. They took everything that was broken in X3 and fixed it, added even more to the already excellent X3 title, and polished it until it shone. There are some niggles, and some things you need to learn and adapt to, but a little perserverance (even less now the mission and guide systems are improved over the previous titles) and this game will reward your patience a thousand-fold. This has very nearly made the wait for Elite 4 a distant memory.… Expand
  38. RichB.
    Oct 17, 2008
    10
    Now with the solar system's planets the X series has never been more engaging. A totally immersive, with a scalable sandbox mode which can have you in charge of an empire the size of your imagination. stunning graphics and a gripping story too (if you feel like persuing it). some say the game has a steep learning curve but 100% worth it, plus you will still get the most from this if you have not played any of the previous games. Build, fight, trade, think, the title's tagline is a perfect way to sum up the open ended nature of the game.… Expand
  39. StephenF.
    Nov 20, 2009
    9
    This is the best game that I have ever owned and I've owned quite a few. Yes, the learning curve is tough, but once you get the hang of it, X3TC takes you away to an alternate reality filled with all of the eye candy and thrills that you could want in this genre. After a few initial bumps, I eventually found myself fighting, trading, building, and strategizing to my heart's content, and even after hundreds of hours of gameplay, I realized that there was still so much that I could do. If you buy this one, be ready for hours of open ended gaming freedom that consumes most of any free time that you have. If there is a down side, I would say that it is that most of my other games have ended up on the back burner because of this one.… Expand
  40. ArgonT
    Oct 18, 2009
    8
    This game is definetly the best space simulation available on the market. Grafics are great, its easier for beginners to understand the game as former X games and offers lots of additional possibilities concerning fleet creation and economy for more experienced gamers. But the strength of the game, the endless gaming time and the possibility to do whatever you want, is also a fatal weakness. You'll get to a point in the game where you have millions of credits and hundreds of ships and you ask yourself: What the hell am I going to do now with this stuff? If you fight the old enemies in the game, Xenon or Pirates, it doesn't really pay of or makes any sense. But the trade, think, build principe still makes lots of fun for a certain time.… Expand
  41. AlS
    Dec 5, 2009
    8
    Expansive, with restful graphics. The game could improve by incorporating an easy to set Mod allowing those of us with slower systems to still play the game, albiet with poorer graphics. More start games that offer a stronger start point for those of us more interested in letting the AI defend our ships while we get on with trade. Perhaps some allowing established Headquarters adn fleets. A mode that allows those more sedentary players the ability to fall asleep without the game penalizing us Despite those things the game is one of my all time favorites already.… Expand
  42. GerbenW
    Dec 7, 2009
    8
    Great game. Love the X-game serie. Lots of gaming hours and not to easy or to hard.
  43. JohnB
    Oct 7, 2009
    9
    Amazing game, Great graphics, Deep and complex. Buy, Update and enjoy the best space sim on market.
  44. SebastianG
    Feb 17, 2009
    8
    I would be perfect if it would't have some things that really piss you off like the universe map or the autopilot system that can't pass near an asteroid whithout doing a lot of stupid movements...
  45. MorganW
    Feb 22, 2009
    10
    Fantastic game, whilst the initial release was a little buggy, as with prior games, updates and the soon to be released game "expansion" prove to be fixing many of the bugs and improving the game at the same time. Egosoft once again show their dedication to their customers by keeping up with updates and additions.
  46. mikep.
    Apr 13, 2009
    10
    Well this game is crazy sweet... when i first turned it on i was like wtf.. i just wasted 40 bucks. You start in a ship with little money and dont know the controls.. then you go look at the controls there soo many you kinda freak out. calm down..... you can access everything with the mouse on the screen as you play.. eject from you ship and you can repair your ship cause is slows down when below 90 %. quickes way to make money is get up too 17 mil buy a split tp and go around buildin factorys for ppl atfirst it seems like soo much money but it really not after you start fighting. forget the factroy or trade stuff for now.. learnin curve is high takes a bit to get used too. go get jump drive. games i play call of dutys, all the battlefiled games , command and conquer, total wars, homeworlds, gta, sports and raceing, this is that other game you wish you could find and get into. here it is the hidden jem. this game is way better than expected. wow... i could go on for a while. if you want a game that challenges you and is not over in 10 hours here it is. its amazing. ive been playin since atarii and this is first game that has made me go write a review.. first review.. after 2 decades of game playin...cause this one deserves it any one that gave it a 0 or a low score did not play past first 5 mins... i almost didnt im sooooo glad i got this game.… Expand
  47. RadoP
    Apr 24, 2009
    9
    I love X series, loved X3 Reunion and I'm falling in love with X3 TC. Biased review? You bet! The galaxy has expanded, the Terrans have a central role in the new episode (if you follow the plot) and the game itself has become even bigger and deeper. Sure, it is not a FPS (so stop whining about the fighting system and plan ahead a massive fleet battle...), it is not a RTS (if you just collect, build, attack, you are missing a lot of the possibilities). X3 TC as its predecessors, is a massive ambient where you can set up your goals and struggle to realize them. And thanks to the ever growing Modders community it offers a wide variety of add-ons, conversions and twists that make this game even greater. So why didn't i give it a 10? Because the best mod for it is still under development.… Expand
  48. JimE
    Jul 26, 2009
    3
    I've played both EVE Online, X2 and X3. I really only played X2/X3 because someone said it was just like EVE. They lied and I fell for it twice. Take all the multi-player aspects of EVE away, slap on some terrible controls, touch up graphics and set the player loose in a never ending single player "sand box" grind fest. Spend a few hours learning the game and the rest of the time trying to dock in a space station and you'll either try the grinding missions next (cause you find that kind of thing amusing) or attempt to self destruct your PC. Seriously, save your money or spend that $40 on 3 month's of EVE if you are really that hard up to play a space sim. I like space sim games, but this one is always seems 30 degrees off center and it WILL drive you nuts when you play it. This game actually changed my spending habits on games. I now REQUIRE a game to have a demo before I would even think about buying it. (If it has a demo now, good for them, but it didn't when I bought it).… Expand
  49. KejnK
    Sep 28, 2009
    9
    A very open ended game. Much easier than X3:Reunion to get started in. Take the time to trade between missions and visit the forums. This will greatly lessen the steep learning curve. Many hours of enjoyment, if you give it a chance.
  50. NickeP.
    Dec 1, 2008
    10
    I give it 10 for its unique appeal, replayability and depth. Its not a game for everyone out there, pure space-action shooter fans will find it too easy dogfights-wise. However, if you value freedom of play, sandbox type of gameplay and continuos support. Just as with previous X titles Egosoft will offer new content years after release, modding community will make mods expanding the gameplay even further. Easy scripting tools will allow you to effortlessly program your own AI, with just a little programming knowledge. Its not perfect in the general sense of gameplay, its a little buggy, hard on the uptake and unforgiving. If you manage to go over that, however, you'll never look back.… Expand
  51. Grizzzzzzzzzzzz
    Oct 21, 2008
    10
    Egosoft have done it. The only disappointing thing about X3: Terran Conflict is knowing that the universe will never be as exciting as it is in game, not in your lifetime at least.
  52. LeeA
    Dec 29, 2008
    8
    When it came out in Oct 2008 it was a rip off, half finnished product but now its X3 Reunion with the free expansion added to it and then re sold to us the beta testers. X3 Reunion with a new interface is all your getting extra if you havent yet tried Reunion with the Xtended mod. To all the ones moaning about the controls try the options menu like you do in every other game to make it nice to control. Make sure you get a decent joystick with lots of buttons only the X52 pro has enough.… Expand
  53. MikeM
    Oct 25, 2008
    7
    A "twitterized" review: "I really like the new interface and mission alert system this game has. Much improved." - 10:05am yesterday from Bedwyr "Just got my first millions after a few trade runs. W000t!!" - 1:23pm yesterday from Bedwyr "Dunno though, there's a bunch of gobbledygook the missions spout at me." - 1:35pm yesterday from Bedwyr "What the hell does sector.name@L2M008.TL mean? Oh, someone else on the forums is getting the same thing." - 1:40pm yesterday from Bedwyr

    "Ok, so I've failed 3 missions in a row now and everybody hates me." - 3:02pm yesterday from Bedwyr

    "So I claim a ship and send it to its destination. Didn't get there in time. Now I'm a thief?!? WTH???" - 5:30pm yesterday from Bedwyr

    "I tried tailing a ship and got intercepted by pirates. Took too long fighting. Lost the tail. Failed the mission. Again." - 7:22m yesterday from Bedwyr

    "Am I supposed to be psychic? Where in the manual do the missions get described?" - 10:05am today from Bedwyr

    "Oh, so lightbulb means think? What in the world does that have to do with the lightbulb missions? Why didn't the manual say that?" - 11:20am today from Bedwyr

    "Huh. A guy just up an gave me his ship. How weird is that?" - 1:00pm today from Bedwyr

    "At least the trading part is working well. I got two ships making me money." - 1:22pm today from Bedwyr

    "So now they send me off to claim a ship and it's blue. How am I supposed to attack the dude without getting ganked by police? Is that in the manual?" - 2:30pm today from Bedwyr

    "I don't get this, doesn't "average" difficulty mean I've got a fair chance at completing it? Whose definition of average is this?" - 3:10pm today from Bedwyr

    "Yeah. I really want to like the game, but I'm not a masochist. Maybe I'll come back later when the game's finished and there are some guides on how to fight. I'm getting pwned" - 5:20pm today from Bedwyr

    "What in the world is going on with Egosoft? It's like they actually want middling reviews. Where's the polish?" - 6:05pm today from Bedwyr


    "This will delete all X3: Terran Conflict game content from this computer. The game will remain in your Games list, but to play it in the future you'll have to first re-download its content."

    "Delete"


    With tongue firmly in cheek - Bedwyr    … Expand
  54. JonathanN
    Dec 7, 2008
    9
    This is a great game. I love it to bits and if im at uni ill have withdrawl symptoms from it! There is a but! As Mike T said, this game will attract every fan of the X Series and i can guarantee that they will all love it, i myself have played since X3 reunion; so i can generally pick it up and play. But even then the controls are still hard to learn. I currently have v1.3 and 80% of the errors in v1.0 are gone including the performance issues Mike T mentions; there are also lots of new additions and commands to help make gameplay easier. If one is willing to take the learning curve of this game, this game will outlast any game you have ever played due to the sheer content of what you can do. Build, fight, think and trade is the perfect tagline and since Egosoft have released this game in October they have already eliminated most of its flaws within the space of 2 -3months and even before xmas! I personally give it a 10/10, and when you do buy it make sure you update the game!… Expand
  55. DougeyeM
    Nov 23, 2009
    9
    cant give it a ten because its not 100% complete. my only quible is the frame rates even when using a powerful system. geforce 295, amd phenom quad core black edition, 8gb ram and many other top parts and i have had frame rates as low as 9 with this game. but apart from the graphical issues the game mechanics ( which require an adult mind ) are very good. i like the fact its not pick up and play be better than everything else after 30 mins. it takes weeks to fully explore this game. i just want to say from reading most of the bad reviews it sounds like these players havn't found the SETA drive button that speeds up game time by 10x when flying. its a must! i remember wen i first played x3:r i spent 4 hours on the first patrol mission not knowing about the SETA drive lol… Expand
  56. DanielD
    Oct 14, 2009
    7
    It takes a little time to get going if you want an immersive space sim you cant get much better than this. To the users complaining that travel takes too long, try pressing the j key.......
  57. CachoG.
    Jun 18, 2009
    8
    High, high learning curve, for me at least that this was my starter in X universe. But as a old space freak (sorry, fan ;), is "almost" the game i was especting since Privateer. (yead, old). By the way, i still play Privateer as his remake, Gemini Gold... Classics never die.
  58. OrionF.
    Sep 23, 2009
    7
    For all the readers looking at the really low scores, lets be honest, this is a hard game, with a very steep learning curve and is fairly unforgiving. Its not a game one really should compare to EVE, as they really are two different beasts. Combat in X3:TC can be very hectic unlike the strangely simplistic target, click, and forget mechanics of EVE making it much more of the old fashioned space sim. Commanding fleets of ships, even with the new interface, is clunky and takes a lot of time to learn but also becomes very satisfying. The biggest gap between the games is that although in many ways X3:TC feels like a multplayer experience, you and you alone have real control of the world where EVE becomes much more dynamic with other players interactions within the universe. Bottom line, X3:TC looks great but is not a pick up and play game, you'll need hours to learn the basics, days to learn the addictive ins and outs of this truly massive game. If you got the time, this has more bang for your buck, but be warned, it takes a really devoted gamer to play this one.… Expand
  59. PhilP
    Dec 11, 2008
    9
    I'm not sure why the X-Series has always received such poor reviews from the critics. Sure the learning curve is steep and the UI is not ideal, but the shear magnitude of the universe, incredible graphics, customizability and replayability make this a great value and wonderful game. Any old-school fans of Elite will absolutely love this game.
  60. apaeth
    Jul 22, 2011
    7
    Not an awful game by any means. The concept is great and the developers did an exceptional job creating a vast and expansive universe. Combat can be fun if you can figure out what weapons you need in order to fight different opponents and find them somewhere that actually has them in stock. This leads me to the biggest problems with this game. The interface and menu screens, and the amount of micro managing you have to do. Everything you need in the game is always manufactured 5-10 sectors away and they are usually out of stock after you spend 10-15 minutes of research and travel just to get there. Do you have a small carrier with a few fighters ready to engage in battle? Guess what? Each ship requires different weapons that have to be bought at different locations that never have any in stock. You'll be banging your head against a wall after a while. I'm sure it gets better once you get factories set up and can manufacture your own goods but getting to that point is a monumental task if you have a life away from your computer.… Expand
  61. medic1joe
    Oct 30, 2010
    8
    Reminiscent of Elite with massive up grades. The game play is not easy, but can be as tedious as you choose. This game is not for the easily bored. The game starts you right out with a lost and wandering sense, but you fit right into a groove soon after starting. Decisions have consequences, much like life. This game is addicting!
  62. hathewj
    Nov 12, 2010
    9
    This is one of the best games ever, if you are into space trading type games like this. In fact , there is no other choice when it comes to games like this.
    The learning cure is huge. I have been playing this on and off for years. I have the interest, but not the time, which makes it difficult to play.
    If I did have the time, I would need no other games. It is really good.
    I gave it a     9.5 because the voice acting sucks. Turn it off and it goes to a 10.… Expand
  63. Coeco
    Sep 1, 2012
    2
    A space grindfest with awkward controls, a steep learning curve and broken achievements which only limits itself to single-player. Stay away from this one.
  64. Rebun
    Mar 25, 2011
    8
    Huge learning curve to get over, but once you've mastered the basics the game becomes much better. I understand that its not everyones cup of tea, but pushing through the learning curve is well worth it.
    All choice is left to the player on how they want to build themselves up. From merchant to pirate, warrior or builder, there is an infinite amount of things to do in the game. Even though     its free play, you have to play the game with some kind of endgame goal in mind, otherwise it can be extremely boring. I myself built up a massive trading empire, declared myself independent to the other empires and began to annihilate one of those empires. It is quite a long haul and a lot of work to get there (~2 weeks or so) but its well worth it. Its got a neat polish to it as well, which i dont often see from german simulation games… Expand
  65. rpeh
    May 22, 2011
    9
    The main story is poor, with the usual terrible voice acting. The ships are lovely to look at, but for much of the time they'll just be little dots that you can't see. It's very difficult to learn how to play. Having said all that, this is a fantastic game. There's so much to do and you can do it almost any way you want. I keep coming back to this game time and time again.
  66. Chaplain88
    Apr 20, 2011
    9
    While this game suffers from a steep learning curve (be prepared to invest 5 hours of in-game time learning the ropes), has some lousy voice acting (when the best voice acting seems to be coming from alien lizard birds with broken English there's a problem), and you're going to die a lot as long as you're in the starter fighter they give you. Despite all this, this has to be the best space simulator I have ever played. It is enjoyably difficult and actually quite easy to handle once the basics are learned (you can do about 90% of the jobs in the game with just a few clicks in the auto-pilot menu). The game is of course not something that will be finished in a single afternoon and is certainly not for anyone who just wants immediate gratification. Of course on the plus side I've found the game is a very good candidate for simply leaving on over night with the auto pilot on if you're preforming some action that would take several hours or if you're simply waiting for your trade empire to earn some cash. There are a few suggestions I give to new players of course:
    1. Make sure auto-save is on and dock at a station before accepting any mission. You will thank me for this advice after you get into a combat mission, get blown up, and realize you didn't make a dedicated save for a few hours but you did land in a station before taking the mission. It's too easy to die.
    2. I've heard several complaints about a bug where missions fail as soon as you get them. Pretty sure these are the assassination missions they're griping about. It's not a bug. If the mark spawns in a high security sector right next to the local security force's battleship, its a pretty good bet they're going to get him before you can get you're ship there.
    3. If you ever find yourself either getting bored with the game or not liking a certain part of it, look into the mod community. There's a rather extensive and active one with mods that add ships, sectors, and even improve functions of your ships such as adding improved turret targeting and drone cargo gatherers.    … Expand
  67. falcongrey
    Apr 21, 2011
    10
    X3: Terran Conflict. One of the latest of the X-Universe games, this one released in 2009. It is a long standing and well worth the purchase. For beginner players who have never been to the X-Universe, it is a bit frustrating but very rewarding if you stick it out. For vets of the the X-Universe, this is and has been a real reward with a living and breathing universe both for and against you. Those not experienced in the X-Universe may wish to jump in at this point before the release of X-Rebirth scheduled for late 4th quarter of 2011. This way you will already have a good understanding of the metrics of the game as well as the freedom to do anything you want and explore anywhere you want!… Expand
  68. Pat8u
    Aug 15, 2011
    10
    X3 Terran conflict is a slow game but rewarding if you get past the slowness the best thing you can do to enjoy this game is to look up a guide online and follow that for a little while then deviate from it at the end game you have plenty of trade ships doing the trading for you leaving more time for you to do the fighting missions, Interface also has improved from Reunion. I have to mark it down due to its inaccessibility that seems to put so many people off. All in All if you are obsessed with space Sims try this one out… Expand
  69. kranky
    Aug 4, 2012
    10
    This game is wonderful and so deep. Not very hard to learn, I've spent 1 hour reading x3wiki and watching tutorials and was ready to play. Maybe interface is not very user-friendly, but there are mods which can fix that. This game needs better AI, less scripting and modern graphics and it will be perfect.
  70. Hawk1978
    Aug 7, 2011
    8
    In my time with X3: Terran Conflict I can definitely say the learning curve is a sheer cliff. It will take a good deal of patience and planning to get the control interface set and learned. A better tutorial would have improved the learning curve issue and let the player get into the game more than spending the first few hours combing through wiki posts. The control interface can be a bit overwhelming but at any time you can pull up the menu easily enough and figure it out. Ship controls with the mouse and keyboard are very fluid, but I recommend a good joystick you can map a lot of quick functions to and a throttle control is a must. Music in the game is nice, but I'm not about to buy the soundtrack any time soon. It gets old after a few hours and every song seems to melt into the next one while never really changing much. Weapon and ship effects are beautiful. Ship's engine sounds are perfectly tuned to the ship you are flying. Small fighters have a higher pitch while capital ships rumble as they accelerate. Graphically this game is simply a work of pure art. Stations and ships are so detailed I feel as if they will pop off the screen, lasers flash across the screen lighting up your hull as they nearly hit you. The background artwork makes me feel as if I'm actually in space. Travel between systems can be a big drawback. If the mission is time sensitive odds are you will not make it as flight is very slow. There is an option called SETA drive that acts as a time accelerator to speed trips, but it also speeds up the mission clock making you fail more timed missions than you'll ever pass. The jump drive system does well to address this issue, but if your ship can't hold it you lose. Also capital ships really are not much fun to fly. They are big, limbering monstrosities that really should just be used as a support unit rather than a flag ship.At the end of the day it's a great game if you have patience and can plan ahead. This ain't your daddy's space invader game.… Expand
  71. meru
    Mar 10, 2013
    3
    I love complex simulations. I love space games. I went through the real bad tutorials of EVE Online and learned the game nevertheless. For X3: Terran Conflict, I tried all the starter tutorials and achieved exactly nothing. All of the tutorials failed at some point. Example: The tutorial throws some garbage at me, which I am supposed to shoot. The bad news: The tutorial throws the garbage at me at an angle where my ship automatically catches the garbage and puts it into the cargo hold. And the tutorial stops just there, as the developers forgot to consider this case. The only choice is to delete the character and start again. Oh, did I mention that after some digging through online resources, I found that the ship actually does not HAVE a gun to shoot the garbage with? The developers of this game seriously should consider getting a usability expert for their team. This is the third installment of the X games, and for a new player it still feels like an alpha version. Three Metacritic points for the players who managed to figure out how to play it and how to have fun, I admire your stamina. A hint for new players: Watch these videos, they will show you what the tutorials fail to teach, plus a lot more: http://www.youtube.com/user/CdrDave?feature=watch… Expand
  72. primvirlaux
    Nov 9, 2011
    10
    I'm surprised by the low score, to be honest. It's one of the best games I have ever played, and as a testament to its addictiveness, I decided to uninstall it for a while: my social life almost came to halt in the past weeks because of X3TC.

    To get an idea of the game, think of a combination of old-school PC Elite (the open-endedness of it), Privateer (the fast-paced and well-balanced sp    ace combat), plus a complexity and range of choice that I honestly never encountered before (maybe, as weird as that might sound, Minecraft or Nethack come close). It's an almost perfect game, the only criticism I have that the artwork is not up to the game mechanics (character portraits looks bland, voice acting is cheesy, and the ship design is not really memorable), and, more imporantly, as the game progresses, and you get the chance to build your own "empire" (consisting of space stations, towering destroyers and carriers), the interface becomes cumbersome and, quite frankly, terrible. That's something Egosoft *must* look into: a game that allows this level of complexity really needs a better interface for managing such complexities.

    One word about the learning curve: it's steep, but not quite as bad as others seem to think. Here's why: there are two kind of "complex" games, those that run without knowing all the game mechanics and those that don't. Take for example one of the most complex (strategy) games I can think of, Hearts of Iron. I tried it, and gave up: you seem to need to know at least some of the mechanics before you can start playing, and I didn't feel like reading up on it that much. In comparison, a game like Civilization is also fairly complex, but you can just *run* it for a while, and discover its complexity while playing. This is exactly the case for Terran Conflict (I heard the previous title, Reunion, was less accessible, btw). You can start playing, fly around a bit, shoot (and kill) some enemies, and discover the depth while playing. It's true, the game lacks a good tutorial, so the *very* basics, like flight control, you need to look at, so I would suggest the excellent forum for asking questions (forum.egosoft.com) and the Egosoft FAQ, which is more like an encyclopedia (http://www.egosoft.com/support/faq/index_en.php?faqtype=1&version=9).

    tl;dr: One of the best games I've ever played. If you like space combat (like Privateer or Elite), strategy games or economy simulations (like Civilization or Sim City), and sandbox-style games (like Minecraft), give it a try. Don't freak out about the learning curve, just fly around for a while, take a few missions, and learn as you go along. You will love it, I'm pretty sure.    … Expand
  73. PeyoteCoyote
    Jan 24, 2012
    9
    Since so many other posts remark on the learning curve on this game, I will offer my own take. I did not find the learning curve very steep at all. However, having said that, there are many things that make accomplishing certain tasks, such as trade routes and issuing certain commands to a large number of ships a real pain the neck. Furthermore, mods to improve these issues were generally not even on the agenda of the developers until they were proven to be fairly successful by the modding community. (Hence the "bonus" pack downloadable from the egosoft.com site.)

    In other words, it takes some real effort to accomplish some of the tasks available in the game. (Not the kind of effort that takes skill, but the kind of effort that takes either a large amount of patience or boredom.)
    Egosoft has been very attentive to listening to the community about performance problems and have released quite a few patches and updates. My experience, however, was that one problem would be fixed in a patch, only to arise later in another. With the release of Albion Prelude, and the TC version 3.2 patch, I doubt very much that many more will be forthecoming; it is what it is.

    Now that my big complaints are out of the way, TC is probably one of my most favorite games of all time. The universe is pretty much yours to do whatever you feel like doing... exploring, trading, fighting... whatever. The graphics are great, gameplay was smooth, and most all glitches and exploits have all been addressed by the game developers. (Who, as I said, are pretty great at listening to the community even if they don't always agree with what they hear.)

    What I wish TC had more of was a more personal touch... to me, what's the fun of having a capital ship if you don't have thousands of crewman to boss around? Fighters should be manned by pilots who can gain skills and earn promotions, not drones that do what the onboard flight computer tells them to do. There is also very limited customization options available for ships. Certain ships are for certain tasks, no matter how you load them out. (Don't get me wrong, just having that option is pretty cool... just limited.) Boarding marines are pretty much just an abstract concept as being things you lob out the airlock to try and jack some other abstract pilot out of their ship. One dies? No biggy, we'll just train another one... which takes forever to do. Oh, and those big planets you see in the background? Usually their just part of the wallpaper and rarely actually rendered objects. The map tells you there's a few billion people living there. Neat. Big deal. A lot of my reviews focus on what is done wrong in a game, and this is no different. X3TC gets it mostly right. The variety of options and the plethora of means to accomplish them is the games strongest points. Add on that fairly decent eye candy and limited frustrations with bugs, you'll have a winner. It could be so much more though.    … Expand
  74. HammerofHeaven
    Jul 31, 2012
    5
    A lot of this game is amazing. It is deep and doesn't hold your hand allowing for an interesting experience. The problem comes in with the AI. You can be playing for hours and non stop you'll run into issues with the auto-pilot non stop. Both with the player ran ship and with other ships, yours or otherwise. You'll find that you from time to time, the AP will run you into objects or other ships will run into you. Now, when this happens you explode and have to go back to your last save. Sometimes, you can recover and pull away, but most of the time you're dead. This combined with other ships running into you really brings down this game.

    There is a lot of areas that need polish. There are major areas which have no explanation as to how they work and you NEED to reference out of game material to have a chance to fully understand the way the game works. Now it is a complex and deep game, which is good, you need to learn some things for yourself, which is also good. Though when there are large parts of content that you are never told exist, then it becomes a problem.

    If this game introduced itself better, had better AI (or disabled collisions), and more refinement it would be much more enjoyable. If you can fight past the bad bits and enjoy space sim games, then you may enjoy this game. Though, be prepared for some rage moments when you look away and look back and see your one of a kind ship ramming itself into a gate over and over and leaving you with a "Game Over" screen.    … Expand
  75. gamebot1984b
    Mar 5, 2013
    9
    A bit long winded. Almost like a single player EVE. Very enjoyable if you like first person space-sims with a realistic economy. Going from one small ship to an empire of multiple stations with capital ships. I'd recommend to any gamer.
  76. FurthestFlung
    Apr 7, 2013
    9
    What's so enjoyable about this game is that, somewhat like the GTA games, it seems to be several games at the same time, and let's you hop from one game to the other at the flick of a button. I'll be first-person dogfighting in a sleek fighter one moment, then, when the last enemy ship is down, dock on my destroyer, and leave the engines idle so I can bring up the maps and play a strategy game pushing my fleets around before going into mercantile management of all my factories, finding what products I have been trouble selling, and considering branching my businesses out into new sectors. Everything you do in this game gives you the sense that you're gaining ground, and opening up the door to a new, and greater accomplishment down the road, and I can play as much a humble backwater merchant or a daring pirate as I want without feeling like I'm missing out on any of the game. This is exactly the sort of open-world gameplay more games should try to emulate.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. GameStar
    62
    X3: Terran Conflict is the last episode of the space saga from Egosoft. There is a huge war going on, a war against the Xenon and against the game's controls. Terran Conflict looks great, there's more action than before and it's possible to control lots of ships - theoretically. But in reality controlling more than one ship is very complicated, if not impossible. But if you liked the other X-series games, then you might like this one, too.
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  2. GamePro
    75
    The saving grace in this title is the level design. A living breathing world has never looked so good.
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  3. IGN
    80
    Lovingly concocted, generally well executed, and hampered only by a few niggles, this is a game that not only achieves its goal -- plunking us into another time and place to live the life of an entrepreneurial spaceman -- but shows us that some titles can truly take us places.
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