The game features so many barrels that we’ve dedicated this month’s entire Barrel Watch column to it – check it out on page 12
Citizens Of Space
FORM YOUR OWN DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY ROBIN VALENTINE
PUBLISHER SEGA / DEVELOPER EDEN INDUSTRIES / RELEASE DATE OUT NOW / COST £11.99/$14.99
Some fight directly on your behalf in
battle, forming the equivalent of your
RPG party. Others serve as ‘partners’
who provide support abilities and stat
buffs to your frontline, or ‘summons’
who function as costly but powerful
extra attacks.Alien nation
Combat is a familiar turn-based affair,
in which characters must charge
up their ‘energy’ with basic moves,
before spending it to unleash more
powerful ones. Mini-games determine
how strongly each attack lands – you
might need to mash buttons to fill up
a bar as fast as possible, or stop a
spinning arrow in the right spots on a
wheel, to get the best damage.
It’s the colourful cast that really
spice battles up, though, offering all
sorts of odd combinations. You might
send a cyborg athlete into battle
alongside a robot sheriff, back them
up with your political aide and an alien
janitor, and when the going gets roughThis turn-based
RPG’s protagonist –
Earth’s ambassador
to the Galactic
Federation of alien
planets – is perhaps
the most relentlessly upbeat hero
we’ve ever seen in a game. His bright
white smile seems permanently
fixed, and despite a pretty shaky
skillset, his optimism and ambition
know no bounds. This makes him
simultaneously endearing and deeply
irritating and, well, Citizens Of Space
is sort of the same way.
Earth (yes, the entire planet) has
mysteriously gone missing, and
it’s your job to find it. The game’s
delightfully weird premise is that,
as you investigate across the
galaxy, you’re able to recruit almost
everyone you meet to join your
growing entourage – including even
shopkeepers, quest-givers and other
characters who, in any other game,
would sit on the sidelines.
summon a snooty banker to clear the
field. It’s a pleasingly silly spectacle,
and with 40 citizens to recruit there’s
plenty of variety.
Perhaps too much variety, in
fact – they’re a mixed bag. Some are
wonderfully creative, such as a chef
whose attacks work in sequence like
the stages of a recipe, or an angler
who baits enemies into attacking her
so she can reel them in for a counter-
strike. Others feel uninspired – your
first fighter, a rugged sea captain,
essentially just hits things, while the
astronomer’s arsenal of elemental
spells feel more in theme for a fantasy
wizard than a sci-fi stargazer.
Each character also boasts an
out-of-combat talent you can use as
you explore, from the straightforward
(smash rocks to access new areas)
to the hilariously esoteric (the stern
judge declares new laws at random,
providing limited time effects). Even
things that would normally be buried
in menus, such as adjusting theshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
A turn-based RPG
where you can recruit
almost anyone to
your party.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Wacky, weird and
over-the-top, with
lots of variety but too
little restraint.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Genre fans who love a
bit of silliness and
aren’t put off by some
rough edges.090 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE
REVIEW