''Dark Horizon'', released as ''Tarr Chronicles: Guardians of the Border'' (''russian: Хроники Тарр: Стражи Пограничья'') in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, is a
space combat simulation
A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat.
Overview
Some games in the ...
game developed by Russian team Quazar Studio and published by
Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive AB is a video game publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company started out as the video game division of Target Games and then Paradox Entertainment (now Cabinet Entertainment) before being spun out into an independen ...
. The game released in North America on September 23, 2008. Dark Horizon is the
prequel to ''
Tarr Chronicles
''Tarr Chronicles'' is a space combat simulation game developed by Quazar Studio and Akella and published by Paradox Interactive (AUS) and cdv Software. The game was released in 2007.
Tarr Chronicles initially debuted with incomplete joystick su ...
''.
The game received mixed reviews, and it was the second and last game produced by Quazar Studio.
Gameplay
The game takes place circa 100 years prior to ''Tarr Chronicles''. The game is set in a fictional galaxy called Enosta, which is under the invasion of a malignant entity simply known as the ''Mirk''. The player is a member of the ''Guardians'', a society of people partially infected by the ''Mirk'', who are attempting to construct a structure to contain the entity from wiping out rest of the galaxy, called the ''Light Core''. The player is assigned to defend the ''Guardians'' from attack from the ''Mirk'' and ultimately finish construction of the ''Light Core''.
''Dark Horizon'' plays similarly to its predecessor. Players can now switch between 2 unique fighting modes; ''Shadow mode'' briefly turn the player's starship invisible, while decreasing firepower and speed. ''Corter mode'' sharply increases the player's offensive capabilities, but will constantly drain the player's shields until deactivated. The usage of these modes is determined by a 'cooling' system; If the player's starship is cooled down enough, ''Shadow mode'' will be activated. The opposite is true for ''Corter mode''.
Players can choose between
third-person and
first-person view.
Reception
The game received "mixed" reviews, more so than the first, according to video game
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
[ '']IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' called the game "flawed" and "almost unifinished", but praised the graphics improvement from ''Tarr Chronicles''[ - although '']GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' criticized the graphical design, calling it "very dark, even for deep space". ''Gamespot'' also criticized the confusing storyline and level design.[
]
See also
* ''Tarr Chronicles
''Tarr Chronicles'' is a space combat simulation game developed by Quazar Studio and Akella and published by Paradox Interactive (AUS) and cdv Software. The game was released in 2007.
Tarr Chronicles initially debuted with incomplete joystick su ...
''
References
External links
*{{moby game, id=/windows/dark-horizon
Official website
2008 video games
Space combat simulators
Video games developed in Russia
Windows games
Windows-only games
Paradox Interactive games
Single-player video games
Akella games