# SPAZ **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 4, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603 "2013-07-04T01:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/1 "2013-07-04T01:24:56Z")
PC game Space Pirates and Zombies. I picked this up because it was dirt cheap, indy, and the description mentioned strategy. It’s not great-- I can see some glaring problems with it-- but I find myself addicted yet not sure I’ll see it through to the end. It heavily rewards grinding, for example, and I have a problem with grind-y games. It also takes a long time to progress. I played for a few hours last night, leveled up a couple times, and unlocked maybe 5 new systems (out of more than 100). I can easily see this taking over 40 hours to complete. I’m addicted, I think, largely because there are thousands of configurations to mess with. multiple ships under player/AI control multiple hull types (unlocked via combat and trade) multiple weapon types, such as unmanned drones, mines, cannons, etc. weapon and status enhancers So, for instance, I have three different fit outs: 1) for mining and easy battles where I’m just there to snag resources 2) a cannon and beam combo where the biggest ship cracks open hulls after the smaller ships take down the shield and 3) missile-heavy with anti-personnel measures so I can blow things up from a (hopefully safe) distance. It helps that the game provides some challenging battles-- I made so little progress last night because I was blocked from progress as the enemies were making battles too expensive. Anybody played through it? I believe the guys who made it are working on a sequel. If this sounds like a game you’d like, buying the first one might help them with the sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/2 "2013-07-12T00:47:50Z")
On sale at Steam for $2. I’ve played more than 100 hours. Good deal. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/3 "2013-07-13T17:41:01Z")
I played this back when it was in alpha (it was one of the first after Minecraft to offer a ‘buy now, finish later’ payment model), and whilst I found it fun to start, the difficulty spike when you entered the inner systems and actually fought the zombies put me right off. Has this changed appreciably? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/4 "2013-07-14T00:54:12Z")
It’s still there. Losing a battle later on hurts more. My smaller ships get chewed up. Losing my huge ship really stings. I haven’t turned the difficulty down yet. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/5 "2013-07-15T03:19:57Z")
I got this back when it came out, and while I’d hesitate to actually call it “strategy” it certainly is pretty much exactly what I expected from the trailer. It is a little grindy, I guess, but I’m not sure how much of that is a “required” grind, and how much of that is just me going “Oooh, I’d really like the triple turret…” I don’t recall any difficulty spikes, honestly, though you do need to adjust your tactics for zombie related stuff. I very seldom ever lost enough ships for it to make a meaningful difference, and when I did, I’d just cut my losses and go home. Enjoyed the game a lot overall, though I’m not sure if the new bounty-hunter stuff (“new” being extremely relative here) adds very much. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/6 "2013-07-15T06:12:48Z")
If you don’t mind playing cheap as hell, just turn on holiday mode, then repeatedly collect elves and execute them for massive EXP. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spaz/662603/7 "2013-07-16T00:25:13Z")
I mostly avoid the bounty hunters. They have some nice ships, though. Took a big beating last night trying to break through a gate. Holiday mode, you say…